Home Is Where You Are
by Caya Strife
Summary: “Your smell…”, he said, pausing to take in more of her unnaturally sweet scent, “it's changed… You couldn't be…” She quickly averted her eyes from his. Yet he had seen enough. With a growl, he balled his own into fists. “That flearidden son of a …”
1. A Change In Smell

**Home Is Where You Are**

An InuYasha fanfiction

By Caya Strife

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_**Disclaimer**: I do not – in no way whatsoever – own the characters, locations or original plot of InuYasha (manga as well as anime). This fanfiction is not being written for profit, but simply for the enjoyment of me, the writer, and those who choose to read this piece._

_Important a/n: This fanfiction is based on a **challenge**. That means that the general plot idea comes from the challenger, **Roku**. If you do find similarities to my Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction "Sense of Life": these are intended. The challenge given to me by Roku will be posted at the end of the first chapter, as to not spoil the content before you have actually read it._

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**Chapter 1: A Change in Smell**

"Kagome! Wake up, Kagome!"

Said dark haired teen lazily turned around in her sleep, showing no intention of giving in to the pleading calls.

"Kagome, wake up", Sango tried again, touching her friend by the shoulder and shaking her gently.

Yet Kagome simply grunted in reply to her friend's efforts and slightly shifted under the other girl's touch.

Sango let out an exasperated sigh and started shaking her friend once more, this time increasing the intensity of her grip, raising the volume of her voice.

"Come on, Kagome", she demanded, "Kaede is waiting for us. We promised to help her gather herbs today, remember?"

A shiver ran through the sleeping form and, after another few moments, Kagome's eyes slowly cracked open. The teen looked up at her friend, a tired, puzzled look on her face and slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Hn, Sango?" she asked groggily, squinting at the blinding sunlight that fell through the open entrance of the hut. Seemingly still in a daze, she peered past her friend, to the outside world. "What time is it?"

The demon slayer shook her head, frowning. Fixed hours – clocks and watches – were a thing of the modern era, one she had problems getting used to.

"The sun rose long ago; Kaede must be worried."

Within split seconds of realization, Kagome's eyes flew wide and she jumped up, gasping.

"Ahhhhh… I slept in again!" her voice echoed through the small hut. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Sango sweatdropped while her friend was rushing around, busying herself with the preparations for departure.

"It's not like I didn't try…"

* * *

"I'm sorry", Kagome said, sitting down on the trunk of a dead tree, stifling a yawn. "I don't mean to hold us all up."

Sango slowly put her basket onto the ground and sat down next to her friend. Smiling, she shook her head.

"Don't worry. We have all the time in the world; taking a break won't hurt."

The young woman delicately stretched her strained back muscles and returned her gaze to Kagome, frowning.

"But you do seem to tire out easily lately. Are you sure you're feeling well?" she asked, a tone of concern swaying in her voice.

For an instant, Sango had the impression that her friend's face had lost all its color, but the teen instantly placed a smile on her lips, quickly shaking her head in denial.

"No, I'm okay, don't worry", she said hastily.

"Your health is something you should handle carefully", Kaede added from where she had sunken down on into the grass to relieve her weakening legs. "You might want to see a healer in your time about the matter."

"No, no, I'm fine, really", Kagome answered quickly, defensively waving her hands in front of her.

Kagome's friends exchanged worried glances. From the tensed look on the modern teen's face, it was quite obvious that she knew more than she pretended to. Yet Kagome was stubborn, and at the same time very selfless; she would neither talk until she was ready nor have her friends worry about her. They would soon find out what was wrong; they knew that much; they just had to give her some time.

For minutes, the group sat in complete silence. There were no sounds but those of nature: the low, barely audible hum of the wind, the soft rustling of the grass and leaves, the delicate splashing of water in a small stream just down the slope. Life had become much quieter since the defeat of Naraku and the reassembly of the Shikon Jewel; Relaxing moments like these become much more frequent. Of course giant hordes of demons still existed and hardly ever remained calm for a longer period of time. But compared to past challenges and obstacles, these were hardly ever worth mentioning.

Speaking of demons…

"Ah, Kagome", a male voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the nearby forest. "I knew that scent smelt familiar."

"Kouga." Kagome recognized the voice at once. Yet before she could even turn her head to look at the wolf demon and his seemingly ever present two followers, he was already right in front of her, clasping her hands in his. Even without his jewel shards, his speed was still certainly extraordinary.

"Kagome…" he started, looking a flabbergasted teen in the eyes. "I'm relieved to find you are doing well. I…" He suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and started sniffing at Kagome's hands.

Kaede and Sango eyed the young man curiously while Kagome simply blinked confusedly.

"Wh-what is it, Kouga?" she asked.

"Your smell…", he said, pausing to take in some more of her unnaturally sweet scent, "it has changed…"

"Changed?" Sango muttered, looking back and forth between her friend and the wolf demon.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kagome stuttered, blinking at the man in front of her.

"You couldn't be…", started, wrinkling his nose, staring into Kagome's eyes as if to find the answers to all his questions. She quickly averted her gaze from his. Yet he had already seen enough. With a growl, he let go of Kagome's hands and balled his own into fists.

"That flea-ridden son of a …", he spat, gritting his teeth.

Quietly, he turned around to Sango and Kaede, bowing politely before the two women.

"I hope I can trust you to take good care of Kagome."

The two women, dazed as they were, gave no replies apart from the slight nodding of the head. Without any further word, Kouga turned around once more and walked off into the direction of the forest he had come from, only to once again come to a halt after a few feet.

"Kagome", he said calmly, his hands still tightly balled into fists, "don't worry, I'll make sure that sad excuse of a half demon treats you right…"

* * *

"Kagome, Sango, thank you for your kind help!" Kaede bowed thankfully to the two departing young women, "Take care of yourselves!"

The demon slayer waved goodbye to their elderly friend, smiling and returned a worried gaze toward Kagome. She had hardly said a single word ever since the encounter with Kouga earlier that day; she seemed withdrawn, troubled with some inner struggle. And even though she claimed to have no idea what the wolf demon had been talking about, Sango knew that it was a plain lie. It was just too obvious.

The leader of the wolf pack had talked about a change in Kagome's smell, if she remembered correctly. And there were not too many conditions that could result in such an alteration. Judging Kouga's reaction and Kagome's unwillingness to talk about it, there was actually no more than one possible answer.

"How long have you known?" Sango tried. A surprise attack might be the only possibility to get her friend to talk. And obviously, it worked:

Kagome's head jerked up, she shot a quick look at her friend and then let out a long sigh.

"About three weeks or so…", she answered lowly, "that's when I first guessed…"

Sango nodded. Keeping something as this to herself for such a long time must have cost her an enormous amount of strength.

"But when did it happen?" she asked curiously, glancing at her friend of the corner of her eye. "I never knew you and InuYasha had…"

At this, Kagome smiled.

"It was about 7 or 8 weeks ago."

"Ah", Sango smiled mildly at the realization. "The school ceremony?"

"Mhm", Kagome nodded, a dreamy look finding its way into the teen's eyes. "The graduation. It was after the party. InuYasha was waiting for me in my room when I came home…"

* * *

Kagome yawned. The party had lasted much longer than she had expected; the day had turned quite long, and now it was time to finally get some rest.

Tiredly, she stumbled into her room, where she was welcomed by an unexpected presence sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"You're late!" the white haired half demon grumbled.

Kagome smiled. InuYasha had never really been patient, especially when it came to her visits in the modern world. He often came after her, waiting for her on the windowsill, her bed, or even downstairs, torturing Buyo, the cat.

Stretching her back, Kagome stifled a yawn and sank down onto the soft mattress next to her friend.

"I told you I wouldn't be back before tomorrow", she said, as if to justify staying away from him for so long.

A spat "Keh…" was the hanyou's only response as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned his head toward the window.

The room fell silent.

InuYasha quietly turned back toward Kagome and looked at her intently.

"…Kagome?" he asked hesitantly, catching her attention.

She stifled another yawn and looked back at him, raising her eyebrows.

"What is it, InuYasha?"

The hanyou gazed out of the window for a moment, out into the dark night, as to gather strength for the conversation he had just started. Finally, he turned back towards her.

"What will you do now?" he asked plainly, studying her face for a reaction.

Kagome was confused. _Why would he ask something like that? _Her brain was too tired from the long day to work as easily and rapidly as usual.

"Go to bed?" she tried.

"Baka…" InuYasha muttered, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant. What will you do now… now that Naraku's gone and the Shikon Jewel back in one piece?"

Kagome sighed. Of course she had thought about this before, long and hard, and very often. Now that her 'official' purpose for traveling through the well to InuYasha's time was no longer existent, she could of course return to her life in modern Japan and do all those things that before had been close to impossible. But even long before Naraku's defeat, a new purpose had grown in her heart. A purpose she was no longer able to deny.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Seemingly it was less apparent to InuYasha for he looked back at her, puzzled, frowning.

"Oh InuYasha, you would be lost without me", she said, giggling playfully. Pushing herself off from the wall, she moved to sit right next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't just leave you like that."

The hanyou blushed furiously. Even though they often shared close physical contact, he would never get used to the shiver that ran through his entire body when he felt her warm skin on his, smelled her sweet scent.

"My home is wherever you are, Kagome…" he said, causing her to look up into his eyes from her spot on his shoulder.

A soft smile crept to the hanyou's lips as he tenderly cupped her delicate face with his strong hands and brought it up to his. Time seemed to stop around them as their lips met in a curious kiss, each of them exploring the other. The sheets of Kagome's bed rustled as the young couple's kiss grew more intense, their passion less restrained until they found themselves lying in each other's arms.

* * *

"Oh Kagome, that was so romantic!" Sango exclaimed happily.

A slight blush crept to the other teen's face as she savored the sweet memory.

"Mhm, it was…", she said dreamily, smiling.

"Though I have to say that it didn't sound much like InuYasha…" Sango added with a giggle.

Kagome nodded, a smile playing on her lips.

"I know, but he can actually surprise me at times."

The young demon slayer smiled, nodding understandingly. What Kagome had said was certainly true; the hanyou, even though quite stubborn, had often surprised his friends with actions and words they had never expected from him. This was especially true with anything that concerned Kagome; since they had met many years ago, InuYasha had been constantly changing. He had cast aside his alienating behavior and, for what seemed like the first time in his life, learned to trust, fully and unconditionally. In the modern teen he had found just what he needed to overcome his extreme caution, tear down the walls built around him and resign from his life of a loner.

And all of this had been achieved by just one single person: Higurashi Kagome.

And just now, their relationship seemed to be in the process of being taken to a completely new level.

"You have seen any of those 'doctors' yet, have you?" Sango asked, peeking at her friend from the corner of her eye.

"No, not yet"; Kagome answered lowly without even looking back at her friend.

"But I believe you have other methods of confirmation? Some sort of test?" Sango tried. She was not too knowledgeable of the medicine of Kagome's time, but her 'doctors' were certainly capable of great things. So it was only logical that they had found a way of determining whether a woman was expecting or not – without having to go through the embarrassing procedure of seeing a healer, priest or anything the like.

Kagome gazed at her friend for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah… we do have tests. Small ones… that you can buy at stores and take home."

"I see", Sango nodded, "You should go back to your time and get one of those, I think. I mean… You do want to make sure, don't you?"

Her friend nodded, letting out a small sigh.

Kagome knew she had to make sure, Sango was certain of that, yet of course having suspicions and having a test to confirm these were two completely different things. Having confirmation, knowing for sure, would inevitably change many things.

"All right!" Kagome said, the sudden determination of her eyes mirrored in her voice, "I'll do it!"

Without any further hesitation, she handed an astonished Sango the basket they had filled with a fresh supply of fruit.

"I'll be back soon", she said with a smile, and added: "But don't tell InuYasha anything, okay?"

Sango winked at the young woman.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure he stays right where he is."

"Thanks", Kagome slightly bowed her head and turned around to walk off towards the well. "I'll be right back!"

* * *

_Jeez, they're taking long today, _the hanyou thought to himself, sitting in the crown of his favorite tree next to the small hut, pouting. He hated it when things did not go his way; patience was certainly not one of his strengths.

_Jeez…._ He snorted and crossed his arms in front of his chest. _Why did they… why did SHE always make him wait?_

Then something caught his attention from the corner of his eye; he raised his eyebrows and sported a grin. Obviously, his long wait had been rewarded.

Swiftly, he jumped off the thick branch and softly landed on the ground, right in front of the demon slayer.

"Took you long enough!" he complained instantly, crossing his arms. Then, however, his mind registered something: the absence of the one person he had been waiting for.

"Where's Kagome?" he blurted out, unsure whether to be annoyed, worried or both at the same time. He soon decided on the third option. "Weren't you both supposed to be together?"

Sango quietly set down the heavy basket and stretched her strained neck.

"Don't worry. She just went back home", she explained to the pouting silver haired hanyou. "She just wanted to get something."

"Keh", InuYasha spat. "Kagome wouldn't go back without telling me first."

Sango sighed. The hanyou could surely be moody if he felt like it. It was almost like handling a small child – apart from his immense strength and inhuman stubbornness.

"She had to get something. Urgently. She said she'd be back soon."

InuYasha grumbled.

"She'd better not take too long…" he muttered between gritted teeth and jumped back into his favorite tree, resting his arms behind his head, staring off into the distance.

Something wasn't right, he felt it. Kagome never went back home without telling him first. It was nothing she would do. Usually.

He had to admit that she seemed to behaving strangely lately. She often 'spaced out' when they had quiet moments; she would sit completely still for minutes, as if in deep thought, with a distant look in her eyes.

Yet she seemed to be seeking physical contact much more often than usually. There was hardly a night when she did not fall asleep with her head on his shoulder or lap. However, whenever he touched her, placed his arm around her waist, she appeared to tense up uncontrollably. Of course she soon gave in to his touch and returned the affectionate gesture.

Still, something did not seem right; something seemed to be bothering her. And he would find out what it was. As soon as she came back, he would talk to her.

Stifling a yawn, InuYasha stretched his muscles and leaned back against the tree.

_This woman was really a test of his patience, _he thought to himself, grinning contently.

**

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**_a/n: There you go. Sorry if this chapter seemed forced, but I'm so stressed with Uni right now that it seems hard to get my head free for anything else and really get into the writing._

_If anybody is out of character, I'm sorry. I haven't seen the last series eps yet and have only read limited manga (though I have watched movies 1-2,4). If I do get things wrong, I apologize in advance._

_Okay... what next?_

_ Right, as you read at the beginning, this fanfiction was created as an answer to a challenge given to me by Roku. Here is a part of what she emailed me:_

Challenge: Write a fiction about Inuyasha and Kagome afterwards, when they have children, most importantly. Write a fic leading to the birth of children( relationship, marriage, ESPECIALLY pregnancy, the whole ten yards, similar to "Sense of Life") What are the new challenges of parents or parents to be for Inuyasha and Kagome? Do they want children? Has Kagome gone to college for her degree before her children? Has Inuyasha become fully human or remained hanyou? What are his reactions to being an expectant father?   
I want you to use that same romantic aspect about pregnancy present in "Sense of Life" It was very beautifully portrayed and I believe if you took that same approach here it would be very romantic, beautiful, and inspiring. I am not asking you to write the same story, but take the same approach to pregnancy as you did in "Sense of Life".

_I sincerely hope to find some readers for this little fanfiction (which will expand to an about 7-10 chaptered story.. ask me again once I've done that much planning). If you like this, please review! Nothing keeps me more hooked to writing than feedback!_

**_NEXT CHAPTER: Chapter 2: A Bumpy Take Off _**


	2. A Bumpy Take Off

**Chapter 2: A Bumpy Take Off**

Her head felt hotter than it had ever before. And Kagome was sure that her face had turned a several shades darker crimson than in any embarrassing moment she had had in her life. With hurried steps, she rushed out of the pharmacy, the small, rectangular box wrapped safely into a plastic bag in her right hand. Of course the content was not visible to anybody, yet she felt as though the words "pregnancy test" were written all over her face.

She finally made it out of the small, crowded store and let out a relieved sigh. Her steps slowed until she was barely strolling along the busy shopping street. Many women crossed her way, small children clinging to their skirts of holding on to their hands, happily hopping along the sidewalk.

A smile crept to Kagome's lips; and she unconsciously eased her grip on the small box in her hand. If her suspicions prove to be true, she would, in some months, be a mother herself. She would have a little child of her own; her and InuYasha's child. The thought of the hanyou immediately sent a warm feeling rushing through her body, her smile growing.

She could almost imagine it; this tiny being, a composition of the two of them, their abilities, and their traits in character as well as in appearance… Since InuYasha had decided to remain in his hanyou form, the child would of course be partly youkai, so Kagome could not certainly tell which features the little one would inherit from its father. Still she caught herself drawing pictures in her mind; pictures of what her son or daughter could possibly look like… Her brown eyes, his amber-colored ones… black hair like her own, or long and silvery, like its father's…

With a grin on her face, she shook her head, inwardly laughing about herself. _She had not even taken the test yet, was not even sure if she was with child at all… yet she had already started daydreaming about her offspring. _Yet it was something she could not help.

The only thing she had to do now, she thought, again increasing the strength of her grip on the small item in her hand, was to go back through the well, as she had promised Sango, and do the test. Then she would be sure. Then she would know if she would have to keep dreaming or if she would experience it all for real.

* * *

"She sure is taking her time…" he grumbled, scowling, impatiently tapping his fingers on his thigh. Even though Kagome frequently visited her own time, sometimes even staying away from the Feudal Era for several days, InuYasha would never get used to it. He could not help but feel a strange kind of restlessness whenever she was not at his side. It was hard to put a finger on it; somehow he would lose his focus, his thoughts became unclear, concentration was hardly impossible. Of course he knew that Kagome needed her family, and in a way even her old life, and he would never have dared to try and take it from her. Yet each time she left, she took a part of him with her, a part of him that was so essential for his existence that he, almost all of the time, followed her through the well. To pick her up, that was his official excuse, to make sure she would not take too long. But the truth was that he simply needed to return her to his side, even if it meant leaving his own time and entering a world that to him still seemed strange even after all those years. Somewhere along the way, Kagome had become a part of him. Their lives had been intertwined. It was undeniable.

And right now, Kagome's absence was once more pushing InuYasha's mind to the edge sanity… and the very little of his patience to an early end.

"That's it!" he muttered to himself and with one swift motion jumped down the tree and landed gently on the grassy ground.

He was just about to stomp off into the direction of the well when steps sounded from behind him.

"Wait, InuYasha!" Miroku's voice sounded in his ears.

The hanyou impatiently crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited until the young monk had reached him.

"What do you want?"

"Where are you going?" Miroku asked, although he was well aware of his friend's destination.

"Ts, to pick up Kagome, of course", InuYasha answered with annoyance, tapping his foot on the ground. "She's late."

_Oh InuYasha, you don't even know how right you are about that…_ the young man thought to himself. Just a little while ago, Sango had let him in on her and Kagome's secret. After all, if they wanted to keep InuYasha from barging in into things he was not supposed to witness, they needed allies, the more the better.

"I'm sure she'll be back any second, InuYasha", he tried in a calm voice; "she just wanted to get some things."

InuYasha snorted.

"Yeah right, I've heard that before. Just wanting to get those things usually takes her _days_! I'm going." Upon finishing the last words, he attempted to turn around and finally walk off as he had intended to, yet in mid-motion was stopped by Miroku's hand on his shoulder.

"InuYasha, wait!" he repeated, intently gazing at his companion.

Now the hanyou's patience had obviously reached the point of almost 'non-existing-ness' for he growled through gritted teeth:

"Just why are you so insistent on keeping me here? Is there something you wanna tell me?" he almost spat, glaring at the young monk.

"Oh, no… no!" he answered with a short laugh, waving his hands defensively… hoping he was better liar than he actually believed he was.

"Just spit…"

InuYasha stopped in mid-sentence as a familiar sweet scent caught his attention. Only seconds later, Kagome came rushing from the direction of the well, her face flushed, a small smile playing around her lips.

"I'm back!" she directed at the two fighting nakama, still smiling. Yet instead of joining them or making any attempt at trying to end the fight – as she usually did – she ran off in the direction of the nearby river and was soon out of sight, blocked out by the thick undergrowth.

While a small, relieved sigh silently escaped Miroku's lips, InuYasha stood as if glued to the spot, blinking incredulously, ears twitching in sync. This was certainly not the welcome he had expected.

"Just what the…?"

* * *

"I'm back!"

"Ah, Kagome", Sango looked up and greeted her friend with a smile. "Welcome back!"

Kagome came to a halt in front of her friend, her face slightly flushed from running.

"So…" the demon slayer started, gazing at her friend with raised eyebrows, "did you get it?"

The other teen nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I did", and, with a relieved sigh, added: "that must have been the most embarrassing moment of my whole life…"

With a short chuckle, Sango took the small object from her hand and eyed it curiously. She turned the small rectangular box over and over in her hand, reading the various letters and descriptions written all over it and finally eyed the images.

"So… what do you do with it?" she asked and looked up at her friend, inquiringly.

Kagome's face once more gained a few shades of crimson and she grinned sheepishly.

"Well… Actually, you pee on it… then you wait for a little bit and it shows whether you're pregnant or not…"

"Ah, I see…", Sango muttered, nodding, still eyeing the package in her hand.

"Well then", she continued after a few moments of silence, "no more wasting time." Thus she returned the box into Kagome's hands, nodding at her encouragingly.

Her friend let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes to gather strength for what lay in front of her. After a few seconds, she nodded and determinedly looked at Sango.

"All right then", she said, "I'll be right back."

Thus said, she turned around and disappeared in the thick undergrowth. It was only a couple of minutes later that she returned, test tightly held in her hand and walked up to where her friend sat. Carefully, she placed the small tube on a nearby rock, the display facing down, and sunk down into the grass next to Sango.

"I guess now all we can do is wait…" she said lowly and, hugging her knees, let her gaze wander off into the distance.

Sango curiously watched her out of the corner of her eye. Although she appeared to be fine, she could tell that her friend was unusually tense. Not that it was unusual to be nervous or even anxious in a situation as the current one. Nobody would be able to just shrug it off.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked softly, still gazing at her friend.

Kagome's eyes however remained directed at the distance, unfocused.

"That's hard to say, really", she answered lowly, shrugging, "nervous, excited… So many things at once. But definitely tired." She added with a smirk, finally looking over at her friend.

Sango chuckled sympathetically.

"You haven't told InuYasha yet, have you?"

Although the sentence was formally a question, Sango already knew the answer.

"No… of course not. I wanted to be sure first." And with a smile, she added: "No need to get him worked up about something that's not even certain."

Again, Sango chuckled, yet then shot her friend a serious look.

"How do you think he'll react to the news?"

Kagome let out a deep, audible sigh and shrugged.

"I don't really know", she tiredly rubbed her neck and stifled a yawn. "But he'd better be happy about it…" she added in a threatening voice.

"You've never talked about it before, huh?"

"About having children?" Kagome slowly shook her head, a slight blush creeping to her cheeks as she continued: "We always thought somebody else would bring the topic up first, you know?"

"Huh?" Sango shot her friend a questioning look, raising an eyebrow, frowning confusedly. "What do you mean?"

Kagome uncomfortably shifted in her sitting position and averted her gaze from her friend, the blush on her face intensifying.

"Well…", she started, massaging the knuckles of her right hand. "We always thought you would be first, you know? You and Miroku…"

Sango sat as if frozen to the spot, her face taking on a dark scarlet shade, as if all the blood of her body had suddenly shot into her head.

"M-me and Miroku?" she laughed nervously. "I… I don't know if we're that far yet…"

Certainly, her relationship with the monk had undergone many changes over the years. They had grown to care deeply for each other over the years, even to love each other. Yet it was not that easy for her to just give in.

_No. _She shook her head wildly to drive away all those thoughts. This was nothing she wanted to think of now.

"Do you think the test is done, yet?" she asked quickly, bringing up the first topic that came to her mind to change the current subject of the conversation, and, above all, of her thoughts.

"Eh? Test?" A small voice suddenly sounded from inside the undergrowth and in an instance, Shippou, the small fox demon emerged from the bushes.

Kagome felt her blood rushing into her head once more as she snatched the tiny test tube from on top the rock and quickly let it slip into the grass under her leg and thus out of view of her friend.

"What is it, Shippou?" Sango asked hurriedly, to distract the little one's attention from what he should not have seen.

The small fox demon frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember and sported a grin as the reason for his sudden intrusion returned to his mind.

"Miroku told me to get you. Dinner's ready!" And while he had already turned around and hopped back in the direction of the hut, he added "Don't take too long or it'll all get cold!"

As soon as Shippou was out of sight, the two women sighed in unison. _That had been close…_

Kagome slowly picked the small item up from the grassy ground and held it out in front of her, fingers still blocking the display from her view. With raised eyebrows, she turned her head to the side and looked at her friend.

"Well, time's up." She stated plainly.

Sango nodded encouragingly.

Kagome gulped. Unconsciously drawing in some air and holding her breath, she pressed her eyelids shut. With shaky fingers, she opened her hand, the tube resting calmly in her palm. Carefully, hesitantly, she pried her eyes open and looked at the display.

Sango gently scooted over to Kagome's side and gazed at the small plastic item.

"Two red lines." She said plainly and looked back and forth between the tiny object and Kagome, who seemed frozen to the spot. "What does that mean?"

"…Positive…", Kagome answered with a flat voice, staring unbelievingly at the test. "I really _am _pregnant…"

* * *

A strange, uncomfortable tension lay was in the air.

The hut was silent; hardly a word had been spoken throughout the entire dinner. And this was slowly but surely getting on InuYasha's nerves. Something was terribly wrong, he felt it. After quietly finishing his bowl of steaming hot ramen, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at his friends, one after the other. Miroku was quietly sipping on some tea, Sango listlessly picked at her food and Kagome stared at her fingers playing with the fabric of her skirt. Only Shippou seemed completely oblivious of the tension and happily munched on some crackers.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" the hanyou asked, rising an eyebrow in annoyance.

Yet this question triggered a reaction far different from what he had expected: Kagome instantly stopped fingering at her skirt, sighed and looked up at Sango and Miroku. The two rose in unison, Kirara swiftly climbing onto Sango's shoulder while Miroku grabbed Shippou roughly by the collar.

"Hey!" the little one protested immediately. "Miroku! What are you doing!"

The monk shook his head and, intensifying his grip, followed the demon slayer, who had already exited the hut.

"Kagome and InuYasha need to talk."

"What do they need to talk about?" the young fox complained noisily, trying to free himself from Miroku's grasp. "It's about this test Kagome did earlier, isn't it?"

While the words still echoed into the hut, the two of them had already made their way out, leaving behind Kagome and a frowning InuYasha.

"What was he talking out?" InuYasha asked confusedly, turning to look at Kagome. "You're not in school anymore, so why do you still do tests?"

Kagome sighed and shook her head.

"Not that kind of test, InuYasha…"

This had obviously only increased his confusion instead of reducing it.

"What kind of test then?" he asked, and continued, taking a step closer towards her, a hint of worry swaying in his voice: "Is something wrong, Kagome?"

"No… no, nothing's wrong…" she shook her head and looked down at the floor.

_Just how was she supposed to start?_

"Listen, InuYasha", she started and looked him in the eyes. "Have you… have you ever paid attention to my scent lately?"

InuYasha frowned and immediately started taking in some air.

"What do you mean?" he looked at her questioningly, "you smell just like always-"

_No, wait…_ He stopped. He sniffed again. And again.

"Now that you mention it…" he said thoughtfully "your scent does some a lot sweeter. Almost as if…" He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the woman in front of him.

Kagome sighed and lowered her gaze to the floor. This look was not what she had hoped for…

"Kagome, you don't mean …" he started, yet unable to finds the strength to go on. His insides were suddenly twisting and turning rapidly, his mind reeling. His blood pumped audibly through his veins, throbbing faster and louder than ever before.

"Yes, I'm pregnant…" Kagome stated plainly, still gazing at the floor. "I can't blame your for not noticing the change. We're around each other almost all of the time, so you simply got used to it before you could notice the difference…"

InuYasha could not help but stare at her. This was just all too sudden.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered lowly and almost mechanically turned around and walked out of the hut, leaving Kagome behind. Alone. Without any further word.

She sighed. _Yes, this was not what she had hoped for… _Yet deep down, she had actually expected it. After knowing him for years, she had been almost sure that he would not just react happily and hug and kiss her. That was just not him. He would come back to her; he always did.

At least she hoped so.

* * *

Kagome sighed to herself for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She once more sat in the grass beside the river, hugging her knees, staring off into the distance, thinking.

InuYasha had not returned to her the night before; and she had not seen him a single time during the day either. He had most likely wandered off somewhere into the woods, to be alone, to think.

And as much as Kagome wanted to be mad at him for just leaving her behind like that, she was just not able to. She could actually understand his reaction. The news had taken him by surprise, to say the least. It was something he had most likely never expected. So of course he needed his time to think.

The others comforted her. He would be back soon, they were sure about that. And jokingly, they had added that if he would take too long, they personally would go after him and hunt him down, no matter what it might take. Kagome still had to smile about that. It was good to have friends like those in situation like these.

With another sigh, she pushed herself off of the grassy ground and dusted off her skirt. It was about time to return to the hut, the sun had already set and it would turn cold within less than an hour now.

She was about to turn around and set off for camp when two arms suddenly wrapped around her middle and she stopped dead in her tracks. Yet after split seconds of realization, she eased in the soft embrace and gently smiled to herself.

"InuYasha…", she whispered.

The hanyou quietly pulled her back into his chest and inhaled the sweet scent of her silky hair.

The two of them remained silent for a few minutes, simply cherishing the presence of the partner, feeling each other's warmth on their skins, the protective embrace.

"…I'm sorry", InuYasha said lowly, remorsefully "I shouldn't have left just like that…I just…"

Kagome slowly shook her head, still smiling to herself, leaning her head against his strong shoulder.

"It's okay, really. It surprised me, too…"

Gently, he turned Kagome around to look her in the eyes. Seeing the face of his beloved instantly sent a warm rush through his body, and put a smile to his lips.

"So…", he started, "you really are… pregnant. We're going… to have a baby?"

Kagome nodded, smiling gently.

"Yeah… we are…" she said softly, and, hesitantly, she added: "You want it, then?"

InuYasha smirked and slowly placed his hand on her flat stomach.

Kagome slightly blushed at his touch and looked back into his eyes.

"It's ours", he answered simply, "of course I do."

The smile on Kagome's face grew instantly.

With his remaining free hand, InuYasha cupped her chin and brought her face up to his. Hungrily, their lips met in a passionate kiss.

_Yes, one day of separation had been more than enough, _InuYasha thought to himself, smirking inwardly.

* * *

a/n: Yes, believe your eyes, this really is an update! Gomen for the long wait, but uni is unbelievingly stressful lately; and to add to that I seem to be coming down with a cold or something (my head feels like it's going to burst). Those are the main reasons why I kept postponing the date, but looks like I made it, after all. 

Aynway, I hope you like this chapter. If the chars seem out of character, I'm really really sorry. I'm still having difficulties writing them. And about any typos etc: I haven't had time to spell check yet (gonna be done as soon as I can), so 'finders keepers'.

To my reviewers: **thank you all so much! **I really appreciate your support. So **please read and review this chappie too!**

AikidoChick18: I hope the length of this chapter was to your liking. I actually try to keep all chapters around the same length (I'm one of those readers and writers who hate short chapters...)Of course I hope you like the content as well!

Roku: You're welcome! I'll keep writing, don't worry, I just can't guarantee to post a new chapter each week.. Still I'll try my best to be as fast as possible.

Abbey: Since all my ficcies with children so far have included at least one chapter where the child was born, it is quite possible that your suggestion or something like it will be used. I'm always thankful for suggestions!

Melinda-chan: I'll be trying my best to make this one unique. Though I don't quite trust me writing skills (I actually hate most of my own writing, as it is with most perfectionists...) I'm hoping to produce something at least somewhat original.


	3. Meet The Family

**Chapter 3: Meet the Family **

With a clattering sound, Kagome's rice bowl fell to the ground as the teen suddenly jumped up and rushed out of the hut, using her hands to press her mouth shut. The rest of the group, however, showed no signs of surprise. Miroku, InuYasha and Shippou quietly went on munching their breakfast while Sango's gaze silently followed her friend, sympathetically.

Those side effects were really nothing she envied her.

While the growing, slight bulge in Kagome's stomach was still easily hidden in her shirt and skirt, the morning sickness that had appeared a week before was something that could not just be ignored. The poor teen would be up before all the others, emptying the scarce contents of her stomach. Yet the sickness never seemed to stop; although Kagome hardly ever admitted it, the nauseating feeling had turned into a companion that was, though unwanted, ever present.

The silence was suddenly interrupted as Kagome slid through the entrance of the hut and, with a deep sigh, sunk down on her spot next to InuYasha.

"Are you okay?" Sango asked, shooting her friend a worried look.

Kagome forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine", she said, and, gently rubbing her stomach, she added, with a scowl, "I just don't see why they call it _morning sickness_ when it basically lasts all day…"

While InuYasha started to gently rub Kagome's side to help her relax, Miroku quietly placed his emptied bowl on the floor and reached for another cup of tea.

"You should ask your doctor for advice; they might have something to help ease the effects." The monk suggested.

Shippou pricked up his ears and turned to face Kagome and InuYasha, eyeing them doubtfully.

"Won't a modern doctor notice that the baby is partly youkai?" Though the young fox demon had no clear, complete notion of neither human, modern day doctors nor of humanoid reproduction, it seemed very likely that the youkai blood in InuYasha had left a trace.

Kagome smiled at her young friend and gently shook her head.

"It should be okay", she told him "Kaede-sama said that there should be no visible differences to a fully human child. So as long as they don't test the baby's blood, we should be fine."

The little one nodded quickly, though Kagome was still far from sure that he had really understood.

"So when will you tell your family?" the monk inquired curiously. "It might be a good opportunity to visit them and spill the news…"

While Kagome instantly blushed furiously, InuYasha almost chocked on a piece of bread. The two of them had already discussed that matter; and the hanyou was well aware that they would have to reveal the news to them sooner or later. Still, whenever the thought came to his mind, images suddenly appeared before his eyes: images of Kagome's grandfather wildly throwing about spells and incantations, determined to exorcize the demon that had brought such shame upon his innocent granddaughter.

InuYasha sighed deeply as the pictures flashed before his inner eye.

"That can wait…" he muttered lowly, praying for Kagome's consent.

Yet his wish was not fulfilled and the young woman at his side gave him a stern look.

"InuYasha!" she exclaimed, slowly shaking her head. After a few moments, she quietly continued. "I'm sure they'll be happy for us. You're almost like a son to my mom anyway; and Souta really admires you! And grandpa…" she paused, determinedly crossing her arms in front of her chest, "He'll have to learn to be happy for us. Don't worry, I'll teach him…"

InuYasha and the others sweatdropped quietly. Somehow, they were starting to feel a peculiar, if even faint, pity for the old man…

* * *

InuYasha's ears twitched nervously in the shelter of the baseball cap Kagome's mother had provided him with. To say that he was feeling uncomfortable would have been more than an understatement. There he sat, next to Kagome, in the waiting room of the hospital's gynecologists' – at least that was what she had called it earlier – surrounded by visibly pregnant women, women with babies, women with their male partners… Had there been a way to escape from this situation, he would not have hesitated to seize it.

The hanyou exhaled silently and sunk deeper into his chair, desperately fighting against the panic building up inside of him.

"Relax, silly", Kagome suddenly said softly, gently intensifying the pressure on his hand.

The boy spat a quiet "Keh", raising his eyebrow.

_Easy for her to say, _he thought to himself while a woman two chairs away from him, nursing her newborn, giggled at his obvious tension. _At least she belonged there. This was a room full of pregnant women, **for **pregnant women. And somehow he felt like no place existed where he could possibly feel more out of place than in this very room._

"InuYasha…" Kagome said, smiling understandingly, thus gaining the hanyou's attention. "They'll only take a blood sample real quick and then we can get out of here for now. So just try to relax, okay?"

InuYasha forced a crooked grin and was about to reply as he was interrupted by a female voice.

"Higurashi Kagome?" the nurse called out clearly.

Instantly, Kagome stood up from her seat and answered with a quick:

"Hai!"

Turning back to her silver haired boyfriend, she smiled and quickly pressed his hand one last time.

"I'll be right back."

Thus said, she followed the nurse and soon disappeared in one of the examination rooms.

It was then that InuYasha once more heard the amused giggle of the young mother two chairs from him. _Just what was it that she found so funny? _he fumed.

And as his mind more and more registered Kagome's absence, the hanyou felt the panic welling up again. He was now in a room full of pregnant women, **by himself. **Not in one of the countless battles he had fought before had he felt such a rush of adrenaline and horror as was now getting a hold of him. His eyes twitched nervously about the room, looking for something … **anything **… neutral to look at. Finally, his gaze came to a rest on a poster at the far side of the room. Eyeing the graphic more closely, a huge rush of blood suddenly shot into his head, turning his face a deep crimson.

_Oh sh…_

He was looking at a colored, detailed, annotated picture of a woman's reproductive organs.

InuYasha quickly grabbed the front of his basecap and pulled it deeper into his face, trying to cover up his oh so obvious embarrassment. Sliding deeper into his chair, he prayed desperately that Kagome would be back soon.

* * *

"So… when do we have to go back?" InuYasha asked quietly as they walked through the entrance area of the hospital. Just having escaped the clutches of evil, he was hoping to be spared for a while.

Kagome quietly stifled a yawn, followed by a giggle.

"The doctor said that the results might take about two hours; so we actually have enough time to get some lunch."

"Yes, ninja noodles!" a/n: that is one brand of ramen IY always eats the hanyou exclaimed, his face instantly lighting up.

"Actually I was thinking of some _real _food…" Kagome scowled.

Side by side, the young couple left the entrance hall; they had just stepped out onto the sidewalk as they were suddenly greeted by a familiar voice.

"Higurashi-san?" The two turned around to the source of the male voice.

"H-Hojo-kun?" Kagome stuttered, suddenly looking into the face she would have least expected.

Her former classmate smiled back at her and bowed slightly before InuYasha.

"It's nice to meet you, Higurashi-san and um…" he looked questioningly back and forth between the girl and the hanyou, obviously waiting to be introduced.

"O-oh", Kagome began, still taken aback by the situation, "this is InuYasha", she said politely.

The hanyou, being his usual, gruff self, gave a short, acknowledging nod. He, of course, already knew Kagome's former classmate. Though they had never actually talked to each other, he had often watched the two of them talk; something, as he had to admit, he did not quite like.

"How are you doing?" Hojo asked, looking up at the hospital sign with a concerned expression. "I hope you're not ill!"

Instinctively, InuYasha placed an arm around Kagome's waist and pulled her closer to him, protectively.

"Oh…no… no!" Kagome stuttered defensively, sweatdropping. "I'm fine. We were… we were just visiting someone!" she improvised, hoping the lie would sound more believable than she thought it did. She was not yet ready to tell anyone that she and InuYasha were expecting; especially when she was still waiting for official confirmation.

"Ah, I see", Hojo smiled, "I'm glad you're doing fine!"

A few moments of silence followed, the threesome simply exchanging nervous glances.

"Well, I have to get going!" Kagome's former classmate finally broke the uncomfortable quiet. "It was nice to see you again!" he said and quickly walked off, waving a short goodbye.

As soon as the boy was out of sight, Kagome exhaled visibly.

"If it was already _this _hard to confront Hojo-kun _without _telling him…", Kagome sighed, leaning onto InuYasha's shoulder for support, "I don't even want to _imagine_ what it will be like to tell my family…"

The hanyou still held her in a protective embrace and quietly rubbed her side. Smirking, he looked down into her face, raising his eyebrow.

"Now where did that optimism from this morning go?"

Kagome gazed back up at him, smiling.

"It went to get some lunch", she joked, "and I honestly think we should do just the same."

"Right!" InuYasha grinned happily, "Ninja Noodles!"

* * *

"Higurashi Kagome?" the young doctor politely bowed, gesturing for Kagome and InuYasha to enter the examination room. The two of them followed his invitation and sat down in the chairs in front of the desk behind which the doctor seated himself.

"And you would be…?" he asked, curiously eyeing his patient's oddly looking companion.

"InuYasha." The hanyou replied shortly.

"InuYasha…?" the doctor's voice trailed off. He was obviously expecting an additional name, be it a first- or surname.

"Just InuYasha." The silver haired youth stated plainly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The doctor was visibly confused but soon redirected his attention to some papers on a clipboard in front of him.

"Well… coming back to the blood test…", he started, looking at his patient with a friendly smile, "the results do prove your suspicion, Miss Higurashi; you are indeed pregnant."

Upon this, the smile on Kagome's face grew yet a little bigger and she could have sworn that she could hear InuYasha's heart beating heavily in his chest. Having definite confirmation, flawless proof from somebody who _had _to know added yet another dimension of reality to the whole situation.

"From what I can tell, you are approximately nine weeks along", the man stated, "Does that correspond with a certain date you have in mind?"

Kagome and InuYasha uncontrollably blushed at being reminded of that certain night several weeks ago, the night when their child must have been conceived. She nodded quietly, forcing a sheepish smile.

"Well…", the young man started, getting up from his chair, "Miss Higurashi, if you could now please lay down", he gestured towards a stretched at wall, "so I can do a quick examination of your abdomen and see if everything is going well."

"Y-yes, of course." Kagome answered, nodding, and slowly stood up from her seat right next to InuYasha.

The hanyou looked at her confusedly. He obviously did not like the situation at all. Kagome quietly pressed his hand in hers, signaling him that everything was fine. As she lay down and quietly pulled up her shirt to expose her abdomen, InuYasha stood at the head of the stretcher, his hands gently resting on her shoulders. His tension and nervousness, however, rose as he watched the doctor run his hands over his love's slightly swollen stomach, carefully tracing the small bulge, applying a gentle pressure here and there.

Even with the tingling feeling of the cool fingers on the delicate skin of her belly, Kagome could feel InuYasha's hands tensing up against her shoulders. She could perfectly imagine the feelings of jealousy and nervousness rising inside of him, those feelings that he, despite better knowledge, still could not banish.

Fortunately for the jealous hanyou, the doctor had soon finished his quick examination, and after Kagome had again covered her stomach, the three of them returned to their seats at the desk.

"As far as I can see, everything is progressing well", the doctor stated, glancing back and forth between his patient and his companion, and his papers. "I would like you to return for an ultrasound in another week or two; you can make the appointment to your liking."

While Kagome nodded with a smile, InuYasha looked at her confusedly. Certainly the word 'ultrasound' was something he had never come across before. The young woman shortly shook her head and mouthed an "I'll explain it later". The hanyou simply crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting.

"The analysis of your blood tells me that you are missing some rather essential nutrients, or at least are not receiving a sufficient amount. I have already prepared a prescription; please make sure to take the exact amount that I have noted down." The doctor instructed her, and then turned to InuYasha, "It would be very helpful if you could have an eye on Miss Higurashi, as well."

InuYasha nodded, eagerly, a serious look on his face.

"Of course!"

Upon hearing him say those words, Kagome looked from the doctor to InuYasha. She knew this tone of his voice; it was basically determination, intolerance and stubbornness acoustically embodied. And it hardly ever meant anything good for her.

"And I would also like you to make sure", the doctor continued to instruct the young man in front of him, "that Miss Higurashi does not strain herself too much. No carrying heavy things, no long walks or anything like that. You should also make certain that she gets enough sleep and rest, and also a sufficient amount of fresh, nutritious food and drink. And most importantly, try to keep her away from any kind of stress as far as possible."

Throughout all the instructions, InuYasha had been nodding eagerly, the determination practically written all over his face.

Looking at the hanyou, Kagome gulped. InuYasha would be taking these instructions seriously… very seriously, she was well aware of that. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair. _The next few months would really be a trying time…_

_

* * *

_

"Mom, Grandpa… Sota! I'm home!" Kagome shouted as she tiredly kicked off her shoes and entered the Higurashi residence, closely followed by InuYasha.

Almost instantly, the soft voice of a middle-aged woman answered.

"Welcome home, Kagome!" her mother replied cheerily. "I'm in the kitchen."

InuYasha and Kagome exchanged a few quick glances and then stepped into the cooking area of the house. There, Miss Higurashi was seemingly very busy handling a frying pan, a pot full of hot, steaming rice and several other smaller containers with various herbs and cooking ingredients. The delicious smell tickled the hanyou's nose.

"Ah, you brought InuYasha!" she said, smiling, upon turning around and finally facing her daughter.

"Hello", InuYasha greeted politely, adding a slight bow.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" the woman asked, hoping to finally be able to gather her whole family for a meal again. "You haven't been here in weeks; you have to have so much to tell us!"

Kagome and InuYasha sweatdropped nervously.

_This woman had to have a sixth sense…_

_

* * *

_

"Ne, Inu no niichan, how's the demon hunt going?" Kagome's younger brother, Sota inquired curiously, looking up at the hanyou who was currently devouring some fresh salmon.

InuYasha snorted.

"Nothing worth mentioning, only small fry." He answered, still chewing on the fish.

Kagome's grandfather looked at the hanyou doubtfully. He had always been skeptical toward the boy from the Middle Ages, unable to share the others' enthusiasm about him.

"That's good to hear", Kagome's mother smiled. "How about your friends, Sango and Miroku, and little Shippou? I hope they're doing well?"

"Yes yes mom", Kagome replied quickly, setting down her bowl of rice "We're all doing great."

Then a deep silence sat in, only broken by the occasional clanking of china on the table.

Kagome felt her chest tightening as the tension in the room rose to an almost unbearable level. To anybody else in the room it was most likely nothing more than a long silence while they were taking in their meal; yet to Kagome, who had some important news to tell, the silence was extremely pressing. Quietly, she glanced over at InuYasha, who was still indulging in his food. Her mother, however, again employing her sixth sense, looked at her, concernedly.

"Is anything wrong, Kagome?"

Right in this moment, the tension seemed to rise even further as everybody's attention was suddenly turned to the young woman.

"Well… umm…", she stuttered nervously, rubbing her knuckles. "I… um…" she suddenly stopped, wrinkling her nose, knitting her brows. "What's that smell?"

"Smell?" Sota asked, frowning.

InuYasha started sniffing; he had obviously not noticed it before.

All of a sudden, Kagome's mother jumped up, shocked.

"Oh no! I forgot the buns in the oven!"

The contents of InuYasha's teacup were spilt across the table as the hanyou chocked on the hot liquid. The sentence had obviously taken him by surprise.

Just like Kagome. She had paled visibly, yet now was gently tapping her boyfriend's back to quiet down his coughing.

While Miss Higurashi was busy emptying the black, crusty contents of the oven into a bag, the ruckus at the table calmed down and all the family members resumed eating.

All the members except for Kagome.

The young woman's face had been drained of all of its color, her hands remaining limply at the rice bowl.

"Eh… Kagome?" InuYasha said softly, placing his hand on her arm. "You okay?"

She slowly shook her head, none of the color returning.

"The smell…" she muttered. All of a sudden, she jumped up, pressing her hands in front of her mouth, and ran out of the kitchen.

Her mother gazed after her, concerned, and then returned her gaze to the hanyou.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" she asked, worry swaying in her voice.

InuYasha simply shrugged, sweatdropping inside.

_So much about spilling the news._

_

* * *

_

"Ah, I can't believe we still weren't able to tell them…" Kagome wailed exasperatedly letting herself drop onto her bed. "I never thought it would be this hard…"

InuYasha sat down beside her, gently rubbing her arm.

"We have all the time in the world to tell them; no need to hurry." He softly calmed her.

After a few moments of silence, Kagome let out a deep sigh and leaned her head on the hanyou's shoulder.

"Your stomach feeling better?" he asked.

Kagome nodded silently, remained leaning on his shoulder with closed eyes.

"The little one only makes itself known in the most unfitting moments…" she mumbled tiredly. The long day had been stressful, very straining, even adding to the extreme fatigue that was haunting her early pregnancy.

InuYasha smirked at her comment and silently brought his hand up to her stomach, gently tracing the small bulge hidden beneath her clothes. The change was still very slight, invisible to anyone who did not know, yet to him it was an incredible change; one of the first signs of the growing life they had created.

Her eyes remaining closed, a smile formed on Kagome's lips. His touch sent a warm shiver through her body, a pleasant sensation. And while his strong fingers rhythmically, gently massaged her delicate skin, Kagome finally drifted off into a long, deep sleep.

* * *

"Bye then, we're off!" Kagome shouted, waving back towards the house.

In front of her, InuYasha was already heaving backpacks filled with supplies into the well, making sure his favorite ramen would not be damaged.

"Kagome!" her mother's voice suddenly rang through the air and the woman came running towards her daughter. "Here." She stated plainly and handed Kagome a small plastic package.

"Mom?" the young woman looked confused, "What is this?"

She smiled knowingly and placed a small hand on her daughter's arm.

"It's a herbal tea; it helps against the sickness", she explained, "I used to drink it all the time when I was pregnant with Sota."

Kagome gasped, looking up into her mother's soft, smiling face, flabbergasted.

"Mom… How did… how did you know?"

"Any mother can tell, Kagome", she stated, still smiling.

Gently, she nodded at her daughter and before turning around back to the house, added:

"Take care of yourself, and give InuYasha my congratulations."

"Mom…" Kagome muttered, still taken aback by the situation.

"Oh, and don't worry about Grandpa", the woman started, winking, "I'll tell him."

* * *

a/n: Okay, first of all, have fun, **read & review**, then read the following:

Thank you all so much for bearing with me for such a long time. As I, I believe, have told you, uni was more stressing than ever. Not only was I burdened with an extra presentation (based on a text from hell...), but I also had to go through many stressful preparations for my semester abroad. On top of that, I am hardly getting more than 3-4 hours of sleep per night, making it hard for me to concentrate at all. All the above is a mere try of explaining the delay of this chapter, but of course no excuse. I am really extremely sorry for making you all wait for so long. Thank you to all my readers, reviewers, and, of course, my challenger, for all the patience!

And now a few words on my reviewers:

**Avelyn Lauren**: Thank you very much for your comment on my story, I am really glad that I can evoke feelings through my writing! I was also very glad to hear your view on writing, and I have to admit that I do, knowingly or not, agree with what you said. Again thank you very much!

**Roku: **Thanks for your good wishes! Btw, I am of course planning on many more cute scenes (even emotional klutz InuYasha can learn his lesson;) )

**AikidoChick18: ** I'm glad you're feeling special, all my reviewers can, I'm eternally thankful to anybody who reviews my work! And thanks for the comment on Shippou!

**moonlitephox: **Of course there will be more! Unless I die before completing the ficcie.. which.. might happen.. with my current workload.. **falls asleep on the keyboard, snoring loudly **

**Newbie GK: **I'm really glad you liked that scene and especially InuYasha's line. And you're right, these two are just so darn stubborn.. And I'm sure there'll be space for that in further chapters;)

**skydragon459: **Thank you so much for reading my story. I'm extremely sorry that it took so long for me to update, but I hope that this chapter is to your liking and makes up for at least a bit of the long wait. And I hope I did not offend you or anything! I usually don't have beta readers, but simply because of my own workload (it would probably become almost impossible for any of my chapters to be uploaded if they had to be proofread first). I seriously hope I did nothing to offend you or make you mad!


	4. Disputes

**Chapter 4: Disputes**

The lean youkai's legs moved at an incredible speed, appearing to hardly touch the rough ground at all. A speed and grace that were even more astonishing considering that his jewel shards had been taken from him. Yet since his legs were his major weapon, his means of self defense as well as of attack, it had been only natural to him to restore as much of their former strength as possible.

Lately, he had often been condemned to wandering around aimlessly; simply spending the dull days protecting the few remaining members of his clan from whatever demon had chosen to attack them. Today, however, he had a clear destination in mind; he had memorized the path long ago; always connected it to one certain being. Someone, who had, as suddenly as she had appeared, awoken a part inside of him he had never known of before. Someone who had taught him the meaning of longing, of jealousy and envy.

But she had been stolen from him before he could even do anything to catch his interest. On top of all of that, she had been stolen from him by that inukorro… this _hanyou_…He had certainly proven to be strong by defeating Naraku a couple of years ago; but the youkai still despised the idea of leaving her in his 'care'. Especially now, that she was so vulnerable, due to what _he_ had done to her…

He gritted his teeth. Of course he knew that she had freely chosen to stay with the hanyou, that she was willingly – at least he sincerely hoped so – having his child. And still he would never give up on her. He would there; he would make sure that she was all right. And that was just what his object was on that day.

He came to a halt in front of a hut near a large stone stairway, dirt whirling around his fur-booted legs. For a moment, he still completely still with only the dust moving around him, and sniffed the air. He frowned. He was sure that this was where she lived, yet he could not catch any of her scent. And even the inukorro's smell was very faint.

Worry etched into his very features, he walked up to the small hut and carefully took a peek inside. Half-expecting to find it empty and deserted, he was quite surprised to make out a familiar figure sitting at a small fire, busying himself with sutra-charms.

"Ah, Koga…" the monk acknowledged his appearance with as much as a short glance and a faint smile.

"Oi, houshi", Koga replied in his usual rough manner, "Where's Kagome?"

What was the sense of beating around the bush when you could get right to the subject and save precious time?

Miroku quietly smiled to himself, then turned toward the wolf demon.

"Kagome and InuYasha went to see a …healer." He answered calmly.

Koga's chest suddenly tightened, his muscles tensed up, his blood seemed to pound harder.

"Healer?" he growled "What did that inukorro do to her?"

"No no, it's not like that", Miroku added instantly, waving his hands, "they just went for a 'check up'; to see if everything is well with Kagome and the baby."

Koga's system almost instantly returned to functioning normally, his heartbeat slowing.

"It'd better be…" he muttered lowly and, before continuing in an almost shaky voice, directed his gaze to the floor. "Say, houshi…how is she doing?"

Miroku blinked in surprise at the unexpected question; yet soon a kind smile formed on his lips.

"Kagome is doing fine." He consoled the wolf demon, "the situation is being trying on her, but she's a strong woman; she will manage."

Koga gave a short nod of agreement before turning around to leave.

"Thanks", he said, lowly but clearly and quietly stepped out of the hut.

* * *

Of course the healer that Kagome and InuYasha were visiting at that moment was far different from anything the wolf demon would ever have imagined. Much to InuYasha's dismay, the couple was paying another visit to the gynecologist's the hanyou had so learned to fear and find embarrassing beyond belief. Luckily, however, their stay in the waiting room had been of shorter duration that day, since they had made an appointment beforehand rather than just walking in. 

On the very top of that day's to-do-list was Kagome's first ultrasound. _Ultrasound… _Kagome had tried to explain the procedure to InuYasha. Yet no matter how simple the descriptions were and how she tried to word them, he just did not seem to grasp the sense. One thing the hanyou had understood, however, was that she would, once more, have to expose her stomach for the medical man to examine. Ever since she had told him, his grip on her hand had intensified ever so slightly, his brows seemed to be knitted even closer than usually, his gaze jumpy. All that was certainly invisible to the outside observer, yet completely obvious to Kagome herself. After all she knew of her boyfriend's nature; she had learned to deal with his extreme jealousy – and the process of learning was most likely still not over.

Comfortingly, the young woman squeezed his hand and showed him a calming smile. The hanyou's face, however, remained rather hard. There was nothing that could possibly ease his tension in that very moment, Kagome knew that well. All they could do was get the examination done as soon as possible…

"Miss Higurashi" the doctor greeted her politely, bowing, as the two of them entered the examination room, "and InuYasha, if I remember correctly."

The hanyou simply gave a short nod of confirmation.

"According to the records, you are here for the first ultrasound, correct?" he inquired, looking up from his file into Kagome's face.

She blushed slightly while uttering a stuttered "H-hai."

"Then I think we should take care of that first and then go over the 'rest of the list'", and motioning over to a small bed with a moveable sonograph at its head. "If you would please lie down and expose your abdomen."

As she nodded, Kagome could feel the tension increasing in the hanyou. His grip seemed to have locked around her hand and his face was completely rigid, frozen in a frown. The couple quietly walked over to the bed. Prying her hand out of his strong hold, she finally sank down onto the soft mattress and, with shaky fingers, lifted her shirt and pushed down her skirt by a few inches. While she knew that InuYasha, standing at the right hand side of the bed, was far from being pleased with the situation, Kagome herself could not help but feel embarrassed. She was certainly aware that this was nothing but a medical examination, all just in order to find out if child was progressing well; still somehow felt as if it were something very private, much too personal to be shared with anyone than the expectant father himself.

The doctor reached for a small tube and unscrewed the top.

"This might be a little cold…" he warned as he carefully squeezed the plastic and emptied the contents onto Kagome's swollen belly.

She shivered slightly, which was instantly rewarded with InuYasha worriedly placing a strong hand on her arm.

The older man returned his attention to the sonograph and pressed a series of buttons. With a low, humming sound, the machine sprang to life. The doctor reached for a small, cylindrically-shaped device attached to the machine and carefully brought it down onto Kagome's stomach.

While the doctor was making adjustments to the screen, Kagome had to smile to herself. Was it just her imagination or was InuYasha's heart really beating strong enough for it to reach her ears?

"All right…" the doctor mumbled, catching the couple's attention.

Skilfully, he moved the scanning device along the swollen area, thus producing rather grainy pictures on the small screen. Obviously searching for something, he leaned closer to the screen and, while eyeing it, slightly shifted the scanner's position. His face lit up.

"Here it is…" he stated, adorning several sections of the image with crosses.

"Huh?" InuYasha uttered, blinking and leant closer to the screen. No matter what direction he would tilt his head, the last thing he was able to recognize was the child inside Kagome's womb. And even though she would have hated to admit it, Kagome's imagination was, in this regard, almost as limited as the hanyou's.

The doctor smiled knowingly. It was almost the same for all young expectant parents coming for their first ultrasound. Hardly any of them were able to recognize anything at all without a little bit of help.

"Here", he pointed to a spot in the upper right corner that he had already marked with a cross and slowly circled a lighter area "you can see the baby's head. And if you follow down this line…", his explanations were accompanied by the fitting movements of the cursor "the spine, you reach the feet."

Kagome squinted at the screen, highly concentrated. Smiling to herself she happily found to finally be able to make out the outlines of the small being. It certainly was amazing, Kagome thought to herself, being able to see what was still safely hidden inside of her. At her right side, InuYasha was still tilting his head, staring at the screen, fully concentrated. He was seemingly having an even harder time recognizing the picture than she had had. Yet after several more moments and many more angles his head had been titled to, a victorious grin appeared on his face and he looked down at Kagome, proudly.

"Everything so far seems to be fine", the doctor finally commented, turning back toward the couple, "it seems to be growing rather rapidly. A strong child."

And while Kagome's imagination developed horrifying visions of stomach's growing so big and heavy that she was no longer able to move and kicks from her unborn child so strong that they could easily send her off balance, the victorious grin on InuYasha's face seemed to even increase in size, his pride hardly containable.

"Of course it's strong. After all, I'm a-"

InuYasha was never able to finish the sentence for Kagome's fingernails came crashing down into his lower arm, painfully piercing through the skin, unexpectedly, causing the hanyou to desperately gasp for air.

* * *

"Kagome, InuYasha, you're back!" Shippou exclaimed, instantly jumping up into Kagome's arms as the couple entered the hut. 

"Welcome back", Sango greeted them, smiling, and after letting InuYasha and Kagome settle down around the fire, added inquiringly, "so what did the doctor say? How is the child?"

Kagome smiled back at her friend.

"Everything is perfect", she answered, "it seems to be growing fast and very strong."

Miroku snickered.

"That is understandable. After all, the father is a hanyou."

Kagome's face instantly darkened, and InuYasha's gaze dropped to the floor.

"Yeah… That's exactly what InuYasha wanted to tell the doctor…"

Their two human friends sweatdropped. It did indeed sound perfectly like the hanyou to blurt out something like that when his pride got to his head, overpowering what little of foresight existed in his mind.

"Oh, and by the way, we brought something!" Kagome suddenly remember, rummaging her pockets to pull out a small envelope. She carefully opened the thin paper, revealing what looked like a photograph. Smiling, she handed it to Sango.

The demon slayer looked at her, puzzled.

"What is this?"

"It's a print of the ultrasound", Kagome answered

"Yeah, that's the baby, on it." InuYasha added, another proud grin forming on his lips.

Carefully, Miroku bent over to catch a glimpse of the picture while Sango was studying it intently.

"Ya have to follow the bright lines", InuYasha explained, rather clumsily.

For Sango, however, it seemed to have been enough.

"Ah, I think I can see it!" she exclaimed happily, yet still looking at the small paper in wonder, "The medicine in your time is certainly amazing, Kagome-chan…"

The monk nodded in agreement.

Shippou, however, from where he had sat down on Sango's shoulder, frowned.

"I don't know…" he muttered, "to me it looks more like a hamster on its back…"

As soon as the little fox demon had uttered those words, InuYasha's fist soundly connected with the top of his head.

"You little…"

* * *

"Mmmmmmmmh… this feels good…" Sango said dreamily as she joined Kagome in the hot water of the spring. 

Her friend nodded in agreement.

"The perfect end of a long day…" Kagome added.

For several minutes, a deep silence lay in the air as the two young women simply cherished the relaxation of their tired muscles and savoured the unusual quiet.

"Miroku told me", Sango suddenly broke the silence, looking at her friend, "Koga was here earlier, while you were back in your time. Miroku said he was very concerned about you; he asked how you were doing."

Kagome gave a small sigh. The wolf demon had proven to be rather persistent. Even now, that she was pregnant with InuYasha's child, the child of his greatest rival, he had not given up on her. His feelings for her seemed to reaching deeper than just the superficial affections she had first supposed him to feel. Koga seemed to be serious.

"Well, it's a good thing he didn't meet InuYasha", Kagome thought aloud, "I'm sure they would have started fighting again…"

Since he had discovered that she was pregnant, Koga and InuYasha had not yet met each other. They had always been rivals – supposedly for Kagome's affection, which had been directed to InuYasha from the very start – and she was sure that Koga would not let the hanyou get away without a good fight. His jealousy had to have even grown; and it pained Kagome to even try and imagine the hurt and pain he had to be going through.

With a sigh, Kagome got onto her knees to shift her position, thus for a short time exposing part of her swollen stomach to the chilly air.

This had caught the demon slayer's attention; and she was now looking over at her friend in surprise.

"What is it, Sango-chan?" Kagome asked curiously, noticing her friend's gaze.

A slight blush crept to Sango's cheeks.

"I'm sorry…", she stuttered, "I was just surprised… I mean, last week, it wasn't _like that _at all!"

Kagome chuckled quietly and unconsciously brought a hand up to her stomach.

"Mhm, I know… It's growing faster and faster now… it even surprises _me_… I'm afraid that by the end of next week I'll have grown out of my clothes…"

Sango looked at her friend sympathetically.

"It has to be a strange feeling…" she commented.

Kagome slowly shook her head, smiling.

"No, not really. I would've thought it would be, but it really isn't. I mean, yeah, it's surprising. It all happens so fast. But it just feels natural… If you cross out the constant sickness…" she added, sweatdropping.

Sango chuckled but then said with a sincere look.

"Still, I think you're very lucky, with someone who loves you more than anything in the world, and then you're having his child…"

"Well well", Kagome said, smirking, "If you wanted to, you could be just as 'lucky' as I am." And with a wink, she added "Miroku-sama's always waiting for you."

"Oh Kagome-chan!" the demon slayer exclaimed and tried to hide her deeply flushed face in her hands. "Don't say that…"

* * *

"That has to be it!" Sango said, pointing up to a huge mansion built into the side of a steep mountain. Just a few days after InuYasha's and Kagome's visit to the modern era, a messenger had appeared at the hut near the shrine, asking the group to perform an exorcism. As far as he had been able to explain, a demon seemed to have gained access to their castle, decimating the royal family's servants. Of course Miroku had readily agreed to help upon hearing of the heiress' unspeakable beauty. 

Sango had always wondered where all those beautiful princess' always came from and just why they seemed to attract demons so readily…

After a short walk, the companions finally arrived at the mansion and were happily greeted by the lord's servants who instantly showed them to their room where they could finish the necessary preparations.

"Kagome, you stay here. We shouldn't get you in any unnecessary danger", InuYasha commanded and turned to the other woman. "Sango, please stay here with Kagome."

"Okay." She simply answered nodding shortly.

Kagome however seemed to be less thrilled.

With a sigh, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, bow and arrows shouldered.

"It's just a small demon, InuYasha…" she said, frustrated.

"That doesn't matter", he replied instantly, turning towards the door, "In the state you're in, it could be dangerous for you and the baby."

"InuYasha is right", Miroku supported the hanyou, "In any case, the two of us will be more than enough to handle the demon. We will be back shortly."

* * *

Kagome sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time since InuYasha and Miroku had left to perform the exorcism. They had now been gone for more than an hour already, much longer than they would usually take. 

"That's it!" Kagome said to herself and jumped up from where she had been sitting. Grabbing her bow and arrow, she was about to start for the door when Sango caught her wrist.

"Kagome-chan! InuYasha told us to wait. I'm sure they'll be back soon!" she tried, yet knowing how stubborn the miko could be.

And her knowledge was proven to be correct when Kagome freed her arm from Sango's grip and shot her a stern look.

"He's just being overcautious." She explained "I can take care of myself."

Thus said, she slipped through the door opening and disappeared into the corridor.

Sango sighed. It was true, Kagome certainly could take care of herself, yet InuYasha had a point as well. In her current state, she should not be taking risks and endanger herself and the child she was carrying. Maybe it was overcautious, but Sango would have rather wanted to be overcautious than to have to be sorry in the end.

With a deep sigh, the demon slayer shouldered her hiraikotsu and slipped into the corridor.

* * *

_Poisonous spider demons…_

"Persistent little things…" Miroku said through gritted teeth as his staff slashed through five slender bodies with one swing, sending the remains falling to the floor.

The demons seemed to have nested in the entire main wing of the castle, building their nests in the walls and ceiling, reproducing at an insane rate. Killing them certainly was not the problem: what was difficult was finding them in the first place. The youkai only emerged if humans approached their nests, knowing or unknowingly, then injected their poison into the poor human's body to complete drain them of their energy and afterwards devour them.

"Just how many can there be left!" InuYasha shouted over to Miroku, busying himself with dispersing of a rather large nest filled with eggs.

"Not too many, I hope…" Miroku replied.

After having smashed the eggs from inside the nest, InuYasha suddenly spun around.

_Footsteps… And that smell!_

"InuYasha!" Kagome suddenly appeared in the door opening, bow and arrows in her hand, obviously prepared for battle.

The hanyou gritted his teeth, his temper rising immediately. Hadn't he told her to safely stay back with Sango until they returned? Just why didn't she ever listen to him?

"What are you here?" he yelled.

"I was worried, what else!" she yelled back.

"You should be worried about yourself! And the baby!" he spat.

"I told you I can take care of myself!"

Suddenly, Sango appeared from behind Kagome, staring up at the ceiling above her friend, frightened.

"Kagome-chan, get down!"

The young woman let herself fall down in time to feel the demon slayer's hiraikotsu swish past just shortly above her, halving two youkai in the process.

* * *

"Just what do you think you were doing?" InuYasha growled, confronting Kagome. Now that the battle against the youkai had ended, another fight seemed to have just started. 

"I told you! I was worried about you!" Kagome answered loudly.

Miroku and Sango simply stood and watched the arguing couple. Fights like these occurred rather often. Still, that time, something seemed different.

"There was no need to worry about _me! _You should be more worried about yourself and the baby!" he spat back.

"But nothing happened!" she retorted exasperatedly.

"That's not the point!" InuYasha yelled, stepping closer toward her, gesturing wildly. "You put yourself in danger! You and the child could've been hurt!"

"But we weren't." Kagome tried, "I told you I can defend myself! I can fight!"

"Keh", he spat. "If you could defend yourself, Sango wouldn't have needed to protect you! If it hadn't been for her, the two of you could've been killed."

This fight _was _different. InuYasha's anger was not subsiding.

"Do you really want our child to be killed!"

"O-Of course not!" Kagome stuttered, surprised at the harshness in his tone, the accusation in his voice. "How can you say something like that?"

The hanyou was beside himself with fury.

"How I can say that?" he spat "Because you made it look just like that! You would have stayed back with Sango if you really valued your and especially our child's life!"

Kagome staggered back from the impact of the accusation, away from InuYasha. His words had hit her hard, hurt her deeply. She understood his overcautiousness, but a reaction like this…

_How can he say that I do not value our child's life? How can he seriously ask if I wanted our child to be killed?_

Kagome's gaze dropped to the floor, face hidden behind long strands of her; a hand unconsciously slid onto her slightly swollen stomach, protectively.

"Sango-chan", she said lowly, her voice unsteady, "please let me borrow Kirara…"

The demon slayer looked at her friend with worry etched into her very features.

"I want to go _home_…"

* * *

a/n: First of all, thanks to everybody for their support! You might find it strange, but every single review I get does make me happy! 

As for this chapter, the end is quite extreme, I know… I just tried to imagine InuYasha's reactions – extreme as they always are – in this kind of situation, and I believe that they would be something along those lines.

Oh and about Koga, considering the existence of Ayame, I decided to go along the lines of the manga and simply leave her out. I think Koga-kun was supposed to be the more offensive type of Hojo, to create the tension for InuYasha. Having him fall in love with Ayame would surely be cute and nice for Koga, but, sorry, I just don't see it in a story like InuYasha, with so many tragedies.

And I'm really sorry if I should slip in Japanese words, but I've started reading the manga (now at vol. 24) and am watching the original episodes (all over again), hoping to improve my characterisations.

I hope you find this chapter entertaining and not too out of character, place and series!

_Now, as I always do, a few words to my reviewers:_

**Roku: **Oh of course, our Miroku always has his ideas, yet what Sango thinks of them is the question ; )

**skydragon459:** I guess we just confused each other there.. So don't mind that. I hope you like this chappie!

**Shelby:** Umm update! … I seriously forgot to notify people.. But then again, my profile usually has the latest! And thanks for the praise!

**AikidoChick18:** They're in character? Wonderful! I sometimes find it rather hard not to make them OOC… Hoping you like this chapter!

**XBlackRoseX909:** Well, things aren't always perfect, are they? This chapter should've shown you, as well. And don't worry, I'm not gonna be too easy on Inu and Kag.

**Melinda-chan:** Umm no, you're right, I'm not a mother. If I was, I'd have even less time to write and my stress level would, with all that's going on, be going through the ceiling… How I found out? I guess from anywhere you can pick stuff up. TV, books, internet, and most importantly, my own vivid imagination!

**Pwalefriend:** Kag's mom is always so nice, calm and considerate, that I just can't see her going crazy over it. She'll have her little comment her and there as she always does, though.


	5. The Space InBetween

**Chapter 5: The Space In-between**

"InuYasha… Don't you think you might have been a little too harsh to Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, shaking his head while helping himself to a fresh cup of tea.

"I agree with Miroku", Sango added, looking up at the obviously pouting hanyou. "Your words really hurt her… "

The silver haired boy turned towards his companions and looked at them furiously.

"So you're on her side, huh?" he spat, anger shaking his voice. "You think it was right of her to just walk right into the fight and endanger herself and the baby? Is that what you think?"

The young monk sighed, hanging is head low, inwardly shaking it at the stubbornness of his companion.

"Certainly that is not the case", he answered and then added, as to explain: "I actually share your opinion, InuYasha. It was surely not wise of Kagome-sama to act as she has done. But you have to try and understand her feelings, as well. Kagome-sama is used to fighting and defending herself; she is a strong woman who does not like to stand idly and watch as others are in danger."

"Keh", InuYasha spat, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I protect her, don't I? There's no need for her to enter the fight. And especially now! She should have just stayed put and everything would have been just fine."

"Oh InuYasha…", Miroku sighed once more, his patience fleeting. "This whole situation is as new to Kagome-sama as it is to any of us. You will need to be patient and give her some time to realize her new position. And she will need support, your support above all others'."

The silver haired hanyou shifted his position and fixed his gaze upon the ground, his face hardening.

"Do you think I don't know all that?" he mumbled, his voice barely a whisper. "But what good does all the help do when she obviously could care less about our child…?"

A clattering sound suddenly rang through the small hut as the demon slayer jumped up from where she had been sitting at the fireplace, her face exposing the fury inside of her.

"Don't you ever say that again!" Sango yelled, hardly able to keep her voice steady. "You know as well as I do that Kagome-chan cares deeply about the child; she loves it more than anything else! That time she was only worried about you! It may not have been right; but accusing her of not loving her own child just goes too far!"

With that, the young woman stomped off and left the hut, her dark hair rustling behind her.

While InuYasha seemed rather flabbergasted at the sudden outburst of his companion and needed several moments to return to his pouting, Miroku's face showed a knowing smile. It was just like the demon slayer to feel such compassion towards her friends.

"Still, InuYasha…", he started, redirecting his gaze toward the hanyou. "I think it would be wise to go after Kagome-sama and have a talk. Being as upset as she probably is right now is not good for the child, either."

The hanyou muttered something under his breath, something that vaguely resembled a curse and got up from his spot.

"Home come you always find a way to make me feel as if I was wrong, even when I'm right?" InuYasha grumbled.

"Well", Miroku commented with a smirk, "that seems to be the eternal fate of men."

* * *

"Baka…", Kagome muttered, tightening her grip on Kirara's fur. "You're such an idiot…" 

How could he even think of accusing her of something like that? Accusing her of not loving her… _their _child? Of course she did; even though the pregnancy had been rather unexpected, she had learned to cherish the fact that she was having their first child, deeply treasured the small being growing inside of her. Could he not see that? Did he not know that she would give everything for her baby?

She sighed, her chest tightening with every single thought.

"_Do you really want our child to be killed?"_

His sentence kept ringing through her mind, bringing back the memory of the rage in his voice, the fury in his eyes…

Kagome felt her eyes watering and quickly lowered her head, hiding her face behind curtains of black hair. Even though there was nobody there to see her cry.

After a few quiet moments, Kirara finally descended and gently touched the ground near the old well that connected the Period of the Warring States to the modern times.

Kagome silently climbed down from the demon's back and gently patted her companion's head.

"Thank you, Kirara", she said lowly, giving a small smile, "I'll be fine by myself now."

Hesitantly, Kirara turned away from the young woman and gently rose back into the sky.

With a sigh, Kagome placed her hand on the wood of the well and softly felt the rough material.

_Was it really right to go back to her time?_

_Would he come after her to get her back this time at all? _

She slowly brought a hand up to her swollen stomach and let her eyes wander down to where the child was growing inside of her. _Never would she do anything to purposely endanger the little being, InuYasha should know that. _

A slight shiver ran across the skin of her belly and she tenderly massaged it away.

"_Do you really want our child to be killed?"_

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and freely ran down her cheeks.

_How could he even ask something like that?_

A single, low sob escaped her throat as the full impact of the accusation hit her again. She dropped to the ground limply, her arms resting protectively around her belly. There was no longer any need to hide the tears or suppress the sobbing. And while the young woman quietly wept to herself, holding her stomach as if her dear life depended on it, the world around her became hazier and hazier until everything turned black.

* * *

He eagerly held his nose up into the soft breeze and took in a wave of air. A hundredfold of scents unfolded to him, yet there was one that predominated them all; this one special, sweet scent that he would be able to recognize among billions of others. 

A smile crept to his face as he quickened his steps and followed the path of the sweet aroma.

After several minutes he had spent running as fast as his legs could carry him, he finally arrived at a small clearing. In its center stood a small, wooden well.

Yet what instantly sent the blood rushing through his veins was a small figure lying limply in the grass.

_Kagome…!_

Rather stumbling than running, the young man made his way to the frail body and carefully touched the young woman's shoulder.

"Kagome!" he tried, "Kagome! Kagome!"

He had no idea how often he had already uttered her name when he suddenly noticed the small form stirring slightly, a pained expression creeping onto her obviously tear streaked face. Protectively, yet still not consciously, her arms tightening the embrace around her stomach.

"Kagome", he said yet again, "what…?"

His slender fingers tenderly touched her cheek, then, slowly, hesitantly went down to her stomach. The rhythm of his heartbeat calmed slightly as he felt the warmth of her skin.

Her physical condition did not seem to be threatening. Still, the middle of the forest was definitely not the right place for her to recuperate.

Carefully, he brought her arms around her petite frame and lifted her off the grassy ground.

"Don't worry, Kagome", he said, lovingly, a small smile playing on his lips, breaking through the worry, "you will be okay. Both of you."

* * *

"Sango?" the young monk asked into the growing darkness around him, and slowly walked over to the bank of the small nearby river. 

Right near the water sat a thin figure and wearily turned its head to greet him.

"Oh, Miroku…" Sango said, quickly turning back to the stream.

"You don't mind…?" Miroku asked politely before seating himself beside the demon slayer, following her gaze.

For several minutes, a silence reigned the air between the two companions. Neither of them spoke; they simply enjoyed the company of the other, savoring the quiet moment.

After a while, however, the young woman let out a small sigh.

"What is it, Sango?" Miroku inquired, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

The demon slayer sighed again before replying.

"It is partly my fault… that they're fighting again."

"Hm?" Miroku gazed at her in surprise, "why do you think so?"

"Well", Sango started, supporting her head with her hands "if I had made Kagome stay in that room and kept her away from the youkai, she and InuYasha would never have started fighting…"

"Sango…", Miroku smiled, and quietly chuckled. "You know that when Kagome-sama has set her mind to something, nothing would be able to stop her…"

In the darkness, Sango smiled slightly and nodded.

"Those two get at it all of the time, and they always make up in the end. It will be okay, Sango, so please don't burden yourself with this." He said tenderly and directed his gaze from the young woman to the clear, starry sky.

She quietly studied his face for a moment and, after a while, nodded.

"That's true. Those two seem to be perfect for each other; they share so much…", and a little wistfully, she added: "it does make me envy them at times…"

Suddenly, Miroku placed his hand on Sango's shoulder and looked her directly in the face.

"Sango…" he whispered, seriously, "you have not forgotten about our agreement, have you?"

The young woman blinked.

_Agreement?_

Yet suddenly, words flashed through her mind…

_-"When all this is over; when we have beaten Naraku and I am still alive… Will you live with me then… and bear my child?"-_

Instantly, a dark blush crept onto her cheeks and she quickly looked down at her knees.

Miroku, however, gently took her hands in his and thus regained her attention.

"I will always be here, waiting for you, Sango…"

"H-houshi-sama…"

* * *

The young man rushed forward, his hair flowing behind him in the wind. There was really no need to follow her scent: he knew her destination well enough. And this was not his first time following her there, either. He had already done it very often. 

Anytime they would have a fight that could not be settled quickly, she would come here to go back home; she would distance herself from him, bring as much space between them as possible. And every time, he would go after her and bring her back. No matter who was right or wrong in the argument, it was almost always him who made the first step and reduced the space between them. He simply could not stand to be apart from her. The longer she stayed away, the more difficult it became for him to concentrate, the more restless he became. And even now, after only a very short separation, he could already feel the uneasiness setting in.

It just seemed wrong not to have her by his side.

A soft breeze suddenly rustled through the leaves and brought with it a smell that immediately tore him from his thoughts.

_This smell…_

The closer he came to his destination, the more intense it became, intermingling with her sweet scent.

As soon as he had reached the well, he growled to himself.

No sign of her.

Just her scent… and that _smell… _Merged together, leading him into the same direction…

Another low, yet threatening growl escaped his throat.

_This darn…_

A new fury shot through his veins, quickly fastening the rhythm of his heartbeat. He sped off, the sickening smell guiding him.

_That bastard…_

_

* * *

_

"Kagome? Kagome, are you okay?"

The frail form slightly stirred and carefully opened her eyes. Everything around her was only bright and blurry.

_Just where was she?_

Instinctively, her hands shot to her stomach and held it protectively.

"Don't worry, Kagome", the male voice sounded again, "You're safe."

Trying to speak despite her sore throat, she opened her dry mouth.

"K-kouga-kun?" she coughed.

"Yes, it's me", he said calmly and placed a comforting hand on hers. "I found you by an old well. You had collapsed."

With a jerk, Kagome sat up, only to feel a dizziness overcoming her and forcing her back into a lying position. At least the blurriness was finally decreasing.

"Take it easy, you still need rest." Kouga advised gently.

"But-but the baby is…?" Kagome inquired tiredly, yet deep worry sounding in her words.

Kouga smiled at her comfortingly and nodded.

"Yes, your child is doing fine."

Wistfully, the wolf demon looked down at her swollen stomach. His thoughts in that very moment were like an open book to her. Yet the youkai soon abandoned his daydreams and turned back to look her in the eyes.

"But just what were you doing all the way out there by yourself?" he asked curiously, yet concerned at the same time. "You seemed to have been rather upset about something…"

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes.

"Well I guess you could say that…" she said cryptically and tried to push herself up into a sitting position. Kouga noticed how much the effort still strained her and carefully assisted her.

Leaning back against the hard wall of the cave, Kagome again placed her hands on her stomach and stared at them.

"…InuYasha and I had a fight…", she said, hesitantly, "He… he accused me of… not loving our child and… and asked me if I wanted to kill it…"

Even now, the memory caused a deep pain in her heart; once more, tears threatened to break from her eyes. Yet she would not cry in front of Kouga.

"He… he said _what?"_ the youkai growled, balling his hands into fists "how dare he… If I ever get my hands on him… Just what the hell made him say something like that?"

Kagome sighed once more.

"Well, it actually started with an exorcism we did today…", she started hesitantly and told Kouga everything that had happened between them, occasionally swallowing hard to keep from breaking into tears in front of him.

He simply sat next to her, listening intently. Yet when she had finished, he did something she had never expected.

"K-kagome, don't you ever do that again!" he shouted, looking at her accusingly, "that was damn dangerous!"

Kagome winced at the sound of his words. Now even he was against her…

"But… but I was just worried… And I mean, I can still defend myself!" she tried to explain herself.

Kouga sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You certainly can, Kagome, nobody doubts your abilities", he calmed her, "but just consider your situation: you are with child now, Kagome, you are much more vulnerable than you have ever been or will ever be. Any little mistake might cost you your child's life. That is not to say that you have made mistakes or will make them. But taking part in battle is a great risk. And the safety of you and your child should have first priority now, Kagome."

Kagome blinked at the wolf demon.

_Could he actually be right? Could _InuYasha _actually be right?_

"I hate to say it", he started, "but if I was in that inukorro's place, I would have acted similarly… Although I would have chosen a different wording…"

Kagome sighed.

"I guess I should apologize to InuYasha, then…" she muttered.

Kouga nodded and quickly sniffed the air, a scowl appearing on his face.

"And you'll get your chance to do so sooner than you might think…" he mumbled.

Gently, he reached down and helped Kagome stand, his hands resting around her arms.

Just in that moment, InuYasha skidded through the entrance of the small cave and came to a halt right in front of Kagome and Kouga.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he yelled at Kouga, enraged, not even waiting for an explanation, "take your hands off of her right now or you won't have any hands left to ever touch anybody again!"

Kouga quietly pulled back his hands, a slightly annoyed look on his features as he talked to the hanyou.

"I was just helping Kagome, and you're welcome…", slowly, he started walking toward the entrance, passing a growling InuYasha. "And from now on, you'd better take better care of Kagome. If anything should ever happen to her, or _her_ child, you can be sure that I will get you for it. Even if it costs me my life."

With that, the youkai quietly stepped out of the cave and left the dazzled couple behind.

They stood in silence for a few moments, stealing nothing more than short glances at each other, staring at the floor the rest of the time.

"K-Kagome, I'm sorry…" InuYasha started lowly, still staring at the ground. "I… I shouldn't have said those things… not _like that_… but I was just… scared, you know?" he looked up at her, directly into her eyes. "Scared at the thought that I could have lost you both in there… more scared than I have ever been…"

Kagome slowly shook her head and stepped up to the hanyou.

"It's okay…" she replied, staring at her hands. "I'm the one who has to apologize… It was stupid of me… This situation is just still new for me…"

Silently, InuYasha eradicated the last bit of space in-between them and pulled her into a loving embrace, holding on to her tightly, as if afraid she might just disappear into thin air.

"Just never scare me like that again…"

* * *

a/n: Yes, and once again I have to apologize for the long wait. This really is turning into some sort of bad running gag… Just understand that I am really busy and hardly find the time to work on this story (this whole chapter was actually written tonight). Anyway, I hope the chapter was to your liking. It had Kouga-kun, which greatly pleases me; and I hope that how things went with InuYasha and Kagome were not too unrealistic. I also threw in a small MirokuxSango scene (since I've finally seen the part in which he proposed to her.. which actually left me gaping for about half an hour) and I will definitely be adding more. At first I intended to have another very tiny scene of the two of them at the end, where they are basically "caught in the act" (well, afterwards, that is) by InuYasha and Kagome, but when I thought it over it seemed a little "un-InuYasha-ish" (what a word..). Anyway, My mind is still blank considering chapter 6, so suggestions are always welcome. And before I direct a few words to my reviewers, let me say PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW! It really makes my day to get these silly little thingies! 

**Obsidian Hearts:** Yes, it was indeed a very Kagome thing to do. Don't worry though, I wouldn't let her get away with it, would?

**XBlackRoseX909:** Sure, InuYasha has a point. And I actually understand both positions (and I guess I should, since I'm the writer…) The thing is that even though our stubborn hanyou was certainly right, I would put it as Kouga-kun did (I would have chosen a different wording).

**Tensaiga**: I know very well what you mean. If I was here, I would have tried to do him some bodily harm… Sense never gets to me when my temper flares up..

**AikidoChick**: You… You're a mindreader, aren't you? Or am I just that predictable? No, honestly, when I read your review, it left me completely flabbergasted, since your suggestion was so much like what I had planned. You're definitely something! I may share with you my precious chocolate chip cookies! Here you go.

**Kougaismyhomeboy**: Here goes their first moment, I hope you liked it!

**TotallyLost**: Of course Kouga-kun is in this! I just adore him too much to leave him out!

**Roku**: Yes, poor Miroku… and poor Sango.. I guess they're sort of blocking each other.. Considering they're actually engaged (and love each other deeply, just on a side note), they're still quite the icebergs around each other (unless they're in lethal danger, that is…)

**Avelyn Lauren**: Exactly, both of them have a point. Just like most of the time, this is a battle of stubbornness and temper rather than standpoints.

**Melinda-chan: **For the moment, I think, it is safe for Kagome to stay in the Warring States Period, as long as she listens to InuYasha from now on.. But their location is definitely something you will see them discussing before long.


	6. Beyond Our Influence

**Chapter 6: Beyond Our Influence**

Kagome stifled a yawn as she entered the small village, the early morning's air sending a shiver across her skin. Right next to her walked her walked Sango, looking not half as impressed by the sudden cold and early hour as the former did. The two women had set out for this small mountain village some time ago to gather provisions for the rest of their travels. A couple of days ago, Miroku had received another request to help a Lord exorcize a demon that had lately been causing trouble on his land. Much to Sango's surprise however, there were not beautiful princesses involved this time. Nevertheless Miroku had accepted, promising to help the nobleman in need; and just as naturally InuYasha, Kagome and Sango had instantly assured him of their company. In the beginning, InuYasha had been very hesitant to allow Kagome to come along instead of staying behind with old Kaede and little Shippou; but the young woman and her friends had persuaded him that she would be safest wherever her hanyou guardian was, which in this case was on the road with all her friends. Despite much grumbling and pouting, InuYasha had had to agree and had finally given in. Their argument did seem logical, after all.

So later that day, after finishing their preparations, the small group had set off toward the mountains in which the Lord's territory lay. Due to the rapidly dropping temperatures, however, they progressed much slower than they had expected and by the end of the third day had made but half of their way while at the same time quickly running out of food. It was at that time that Kagome and Sango had offered to walk to a neighbouring village to purchase whatever they needed to their remaining days of travel until they reached their destination. Again, InuYasha felt very reluctant about letting Kagome go, but in the end had enough trust in Sango and her abilities to let the two women go by themselves.

Kagome smiled slightly as she remembered the pouting face with which the hanyou had seen her off just a little bit ago. InuYasha had been extremely protective ever since the beginning of her pregnancy. And though it impressively increased with each passing day, each new development, he was certainly trying his best not to corner her once again. Since the big argument just about a month ago, he had been trying to be much less strict with her. Still, he was always on guard, always had an eye on her, always made sure she had everything she might possibly need or want.

It was kind of cute, Kagome thought to herself, another small smile spreading on her lips while her hands reached up to come to a rest on her swollen stomach, protectively. Now that she was in her late fourth month, to be hitting the fifth in just a couple of days, the pregnancy had become clearly obvious to even outsiders. The big shirts she had brought on her last visit to her time barely fit anymore and would soon have to be replaced with even wider clothing. Kagome was still at a loss trying to think of other alternatives beside the modern maternity clothes she despised so much but decided she would deal with the problem when she had to. For now, she wanted to enjoy this stage of her pregnancy, supposedly the most agreeable one due to certain hormonal changes and many other adjustments that were currently occurring in her body without the extreme side effects of neither the nausea-ridden first nor the pain- and exhaustion dominated final months.

A sudden shiver ran across Kagome's skin, involuntarily making her shudder ever so slightly. Her companion, Sango, however had noticed the tiny movement and glanced over at her friend sympathetically.

"Do you want me to go ask somebody for shelter so you can warm up a little, Kagome-chan?" the exterminator offered kindly.

The other woman, however, gently shook her head, smiling.

"No, thanks, I'll be fine", she replied thankfully. "I'm not that cold. I guess I'm just still a little tired from yesterday."

Sango nodded with understanding. They had travelled a long distance the previous day; and even though Kagome had spent some of the way in InuYasha's arms, it had still been hard on her. She was not in her usual fit condition after all.

"It really is wearing you out, isn't it?" Sango said; it was more of a statement than a question.

Kagome shrugged.

"I guess. I do get tired easily lately", she said, unconsciously patting her stomach "but that's all right. I don't mind it all that much."

At this, the exterminator smiled back at her friend.

"It is really remarkable how you deal with this situation, Kagome-chan. I don't think… I don't think I could do it all that easily. I really admire you."

Kagome laughed, looking over at her friend.

"It's not half as bad as you think." She assured her friend and continued: "Don't worry, Sango-chan, you'll do fine. You'll see."

"K-Kagome-chan!" Sango stuttered, looking at the other woman with a shocked face. Her cheeks instantly flushed with a deep crimson.

Kagome chuckled at the sight of her friend's embarrassment. It was funny, even somewhat refreshing how she always reacted at allusions to her relationship with the young monk, Miroku. Even though she was almost always extremely shy around him, obviously never really knowing how to act, Kagome was more than sure of her emotions toward him. And from the way things had been progressing lately Kagome was positive that the couple would soon take the final steps toward a joined future and bless their relationship with a small product of their love. It was only a matter of time.

The two women walked in silence for a while, embarrassment still written clearly on Sango's face, until they reached the village's small marketplace. Even though it was still early in the morning, many stands had already been erected and several women were bustling around busily. Kagome and Sango slowly approached the first stand closest to them, where apparently an older woman was selling all sorts of vegetables. She greeted the two young ones with a smile and kindly listened to their wishes.

"How far are you, child?" she asked while she was picking out tomatoes and gently smiled up at Kagome.

The latter woman gazed up surprised but soon sported a smile, bringing up her hands to her obviously protruding stomach.

"Oh, almost five months now."

The lady smiled knowingly.

"Ah, that is the most enjoyable time", she said, "you and your husband should really cherish it."

Kagome gave a short, surprised laugh and shook her head.

"InuYasha… I mean, the father and I aren't married. But we really are enjoying it."

The elderly woman's face hardened immediately.

"InuYasha, you say? The hanyou?"

In that very moment, the marketplace around them seemed to be turning quiet, as if listening in to the women's conversation.

"Yes", Kagome said, nodding, slightly confused. "Do you know him?"

"I could not say I know him", she answered "but I know of him… Listen, dear", she said, lowly, leaning toward Kagome and looking at her intently yet not without a little sympathy, "the people in this region, and also many in this village have had very bad experiences with the youkai and hanyou and thus do not think very highly of them. And their views of children born with youkai blood are even less positive. Even though your child might not be more than one fourth youkai, it is not human to them. To them, it is polluted. And so are you."

Kagome was taken aback by this statement; she had never been confronted with prejudice against herself that directly, and certainly not against her child or herself ever since the pregnancy had started. She certainly remembered times when she had had to witness accounts of extreme prejudice; and she also knew the negative experiences InuYasha himself had made in his childhood and youth. Yet having to deal with it this directly added a whole new dimension to the perception she had had so far.

"T-thank you…" Kagome stuttered while Sango took the purchases. Perplexed, she had no idea how to react to the situation and simply walked over to the next stand, her mind in a daze, with Sango following close at her heels. The exterminator quickly caught up with Kagome and protectively placed a hand on her friend's arm.

The younger, small woman at the next stand already seemed to prove the other woman's warning: she looked at Kagome in disdain, back and forth between her face and her protruding stomach, as if to make her views known. Suddenly, a tall, light skinned man stepped close to the woman's side. From the way their eyes met, they seemed to share a personal relation. And obviously, they shared the same views on youkai and hanyou as well. The man looked at Kagome threateningly, causing Sango to intensify her grip on her friend's arm.

"Come, Kagome-chan, I think we should go", she said, disgust in her voice and eyes, "it's not worth it." Even though Sango was relieved that Kagome had not talked back to the people and tried to change their views, it worried her at the same time. Normally, Kagome _would_ have talked back, she would have tried to persuade the people that their view was wrong. It was completely unlike the young miko to keep quiet. Thus deeply concerned, Sango gazed over at Kagome and quickly led her back to where they had come from. After the two of them had taken a few steps, voices came to their ears. Several voices of the people that had busied themselves around the marketplace.

"That's right, get out of here quickly! You and your bastard child!"

"Those beasts have never done anything but bring bad luck to this village!"

"You'd better not try and come back!"

At every new accusation, every new word uttered, Sango flinched. Many curses followed, dozens of them rang through the air. More and more voices joined into the raging chorus.

Still Kagome showed no reaction. She was still in a daze.

As fast as they possibly could without breaking into a run, the two young women exited the village and hurried down the path they had taken earlier, back towards where InuYasha and Miroku were waiting for them. Away from the angry screams. Away from the horrible accusations.

* * *

For what seemed like the thousandth time that day InuYasha directed a frowning look at Kagome. Since she and Sango had returned from a nearby village earlier that day, she had been strangely withdrawn. Of course she claimed that she was fine and simply feeling exhausted; but he knew the young woman and could, with absolute certainty, tell that something was very wrong with her. However he knew just as well that it would be impossible to force her to tell him what had happened. As much as he hated it, he would have to wait until she herself felt ready to confide in him. Just a little earlier, he had talked to Sango and asked her if she knew what might be wrong with Kagome. But she, as well, had assured him that it was nothing but the simple exhaustion of the progressing pregnancy.

Dusk was setting in and the air grew even chillier than it had already been. The hanyou stirred the small fire and then walked over to where Kagome was sitting. He dropped down onto the ground next to her and gently reached for her hand. Slowly, she turned her head toward him and looked at him with a tired smile. Miroku and Sango had already gone to sleep to rest for an early start of the following day, so the hanyou and the miko were all alone at the fireside.

"Are you really sure you're okay, Kagome?" he tried once more, worry etched into his features, his voice soft, almost a whisper.

The young woman nodded and tightened the grip he had of her hand.

"I told you I'm fine, InuYasha. Just a little exhausted from all the travelling, that's all." She claimed, struggling to keep the tired smile fixed on her face.

The hanyou raised his eyebrows, still not convinced, but eventually decided to give up on the subject for the night.

"It's getting late", he stated, "maybe you should try and get some sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

Kagome looked at him for a long time, her brown eyes studying his face intently. Then she pulled his hand up to her chest, her stomach protected between the two of them. Her eyes were pleading to him, desperately. And he understood.

Gently, he cradled her slender form in his arms and pressed her close to his body, protectively, lovingly. Whatever had happened earlier, it had left a very deep impression on her. And even if she did not want to confide in him yet, he would do anything to make her feel better. Even if the only thing he could do was to hold her.

* * *

"It seems to be getting colder and colder by the minute." Sango said from her place on the back of her trusted companion Kirara. Right behind her sat the monk Miroku, who saw in this meteorological situation his cue to decrease the space between himself and the demon slayer. Now there were only a couple of inches of thin air separating the two of them, and a large smile spread on the monk's face.

A few feet deeper, on the rugged mountain path ran InuYasha, with a strong grip holding Kagome against his chest. Before he had usually carried her on his back, but since the pregnancy had progressed they had decided it to be safer not to put too much pressure on her stomach and rather be safe than sorry. And neither Kagome nor InuYasha really minded the change in positions. Today, it had another positive aspect: added body warmth in the freezing air.

Since the early morning, it had been piercingly cold; and despite all hopes, the temperatures had not increased but even rather dropped. In addition, a strong wind had picked up and now blew hard into the faces of the four travellers, biting harshly into their skin. The previously still blue sky was suddenly laden with thick clouds and the air smelled of fresh snow. So it came as a big surprise when, just an hour after they had started on their way up the mountain, the first flakes of snow came down from the sky. Those few, single flakes soon turned into a thick, streaming curtain of white, mercilessly battering into their faces. Within less than ten minutes, the low drizzle had turned into a full-scale storm, completely taking the four companions by surprise, catching them off guard and totally unprepared. It was a time of quick decisions.

"I will take care of Kagome, you look after Sango! Find some shelter; we'll meet after it's cleared up!" InuYasha yelled over the roaring wind into the direction where he had last seen Miroku and Sango. A little in the distance swallowed by the wind, he thought he could hear the monk answer, even though he could not be sure. In this situation, however, it did not matter anyway. He knew that Miroku and Sango would be fine; they could take care of themselves and had proven that many times already. His first priority in this very moment was to get himself and even more importantly Kagome out of the harsh weather and into some kind of shelter. Strongly, her careful not to crush her, he pressed the young woman closer to his chest to provide her with as much shelter as he himself could provide and jumped off blindly into the white chaos.

* * *

Sango settled back into Kirara's soft, warm fur, shuddering from the freezing air that whizzed past the entrance of the large cave they had discovered a little up the hill.

"I hope Kagome-chan and InuYasha are doing fine…" she said, concern wavering in her voice.

The monk smiled gently at his companion and sat down on the floor across from her.

"I'm sure they are fine. InuYasha certainly has found shelter for himself and Kagome-sama by now."

Sango nodded, feeling somewhat relieved from the reassuring words of the young man.

A few moments passed in complete silence with only the sound of the wind humming in the background. Sango shivered once more and sank deeper into Kirara's fur. The temperature was apparently still dropping, and this combined with the lack of movement made her body grow numb. Looking over at Miroku, she noticed that he was shuddering heavily and she wondered why he had not yet taken initiative and sat down beside her like he normally would. Could it possibly be that he was honestly trying to be more respectful? Sango quietly chuckled to herself at the absurdity of the thought, yet not without blushing ever so slightly.

"Miroku…" she said lowly to catch his attention.

He looked up at her questioningly, but she never said any further word. The young woman simply patted the ground right next to her and presented him with an inviting smile. As her intention had dawned on him, Miroku happily moved over and sank down right where she had motioned. Thus they sat in silence for several minutes, motionless, until finally Miroku's hand found it's way to her right side.

Sango could literally feel a drop of sweat forming on her forehead and sighed inwardly. _And here he goes, _she thought. It was only a matter of seconds until his hand would once more slide down her side to her behind. So she waited.

And waited.

But nothing ever happened.

He simply sat perfectly still, right at her side, holding her close. And nothing else.

Sango suddenly felt a pleasant warmth rush through her body, yet she doubted that it was simply the result of shared body heat. With an ever so slight tinge of red spreading across her cheeks, she carefully leaned her head to the side and placed it softly on the young man's shoulder. Letting out one last, inward sigh, she closed her eyes and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Not too far down the hill in a much smaller recess, a very similar scene was just taking place. Kagome had sat down with her back against the cool wall while InuYasha still stood before her, fumbling with his haori. Finally, he took it off and gently placed it around Kagome's slender shoulders.

"Are you sure you don't need it?" she asked concerned.

He nodded. "I'm a hanyou, I'll be fine. You need it more than I do."

"Thank you…" she said softly, a tired yet grateful smile on her lips as she tucked the red garment tighter to her body.

InuYasha sat back down at her side and gently embraced her, bringing her closer to his body to share the warmth it naturally radiated. Well, certainly not _just _to share body heat. To him, it simply felt like that place was were she belonged, where she had always belonged: right by his side, in his arms. It was made for her. Her petite frame and his chest seemed to be matching against each other perfectly.

After a few moments of silence and avoiding to look into his eyes, Kagome sighed profoundly.

In that moment, InuYasha knew that whatever had been troubling her all day had just come back to haunt her mind. He gently pulled her closer.

"Something happened earlier today, didn't it? At that village?"

Hesitantly, Kagome turned toward InuYasha and nodded. With a low voice, she told him everything that had occurred; at times reluctant to go on yet he gently assured her that it was all right, that she could tell him anything. But the more he heard, the harder his face turned, the stronger his heart seemed to beat in his chest. He felt an old rage rising inside of him.

_How could they dare to treat her like that? She had never done anything wrong, always tried to be good to people, to help and do her best. Yes, she was having a child that had youkai blood running through its veins – thanks to his heritage – but that certainly did not make the child or Kagome worth any less than anybody else._

Still, he knew the feeling. He had known the prejudices from the day he had been born. Surely he had never understood when he was young. He had been innocent, believing in the good of people. But the older he had grown, the more he had had to learn. The more he had been disappointed. The more he had grown bitter and withdrawn. And he had built up walls, blocking out whoever tried to get through to him. Until Kagome had stepped into his life and mended his wounds, shown him that there was someone he could trust and confide in.

Of all this, he knew, Kagome had thought all day. When she had been scolded, she had thought of how it had happened to him. When she had longed to tell him to find consolation, she had been reminded of his deep wounds and had decided to keep her bad experience to herself to not reopen his old scars.

And this was why, instead of breaking out into curses and threatening to make those villagers pay like he so dearly would for hurting his loved one, he simply pressed Kagome even closer to himself and buried his face in her raven hair.

"I'm sorry, Kagome…" he whispered, already feeling the warm drops of her tears on his neck. Gently, he pulled back and placed a kiss on her lips.

Intently looking into her eyes, he placed a hand on her stomach and brought the other up to her cheek.

"I know I can't promise you that something like this will never happen again. But I _can_ promise that I will do everything to help you and our child to deal with this. I won't let it suffer like I had to."

* * *

Today was a good day, Miroku thought. Body warmth was wonderful. He smiled, even though his hand itched insanely. But today, he would _not _give in to his desires. For once, he would be the perfect gentleman. And as he had discovered, there were certain rewards for being a gentleman. And he said to say he quite liked those rewards. Still smiling widely, he looked down at Sango's sleeping form resting against his side, head placed softly on his shoulder.

Yes, today was a good day.

* * *

a/n: Okay, it took me ... an amazing 5 months to update... at least I made today's deadline, even if it had me stay up until four in the morning to finish this. I know that there is no excuse for not updating any earlier, but I at least want to give you some sort of explanation. As you might know, I have just spent a semester abroad in the United States (my writing hasn't improved though, has it?...) and have been busier than ever before in my life. In addition to that, I ended my relationship with my boyfriend just after the start of the semester and, as if that was not enough emotional stress, a person very dear to me, my only remaining grandfather died just 6 weeks ago. Since I was in the States at that time, I was neither able to see him again or be at the funeral. This still makes it hard for me to cope and really set my mind to something.  
So if you have been looking for an explanation why this chapter seemed to clichee, this might just be it. Emotional depth for me at this moment is connected to anything but romance, so I have to somewhat "resign" to "standart situations". I'm sorry.  
Nevertheless: a few words to my reviewers: 

**XBlackRoseX909**: That's true, Kouga-kun is our trademark thickhead, but that's why we love him so (aside from the obvious).  
**fallenstar127: **When Kagome will have her child? Well, give me another 3 chapters or so and that should do the trick. Hope you can wait that long.  
**Amaya-Rinkusu: **Un-Kougaish? Possibly.. But I tend to have my own interpretations of the characters and I guess I might have brought too much of that in.. oh well.. Gomen.. As for the Miroku/Sango scene: yes, I can see that.. I luckily watched it in bed, but nearly fell out of it.. My jaw went crashing to the matress in that scene and it took me quite some time to come back to my senses...  
**AikidoChick18: **You're welcome; I got lots of cookies. A ficlet about Miroku/Sango? I have to admit, that it's tempting, and I've thought about it before. Actually it's pretty possibly if I get the right inspiration. But I think I've definitely written my share of pregnancy ficcies and should try and improve my romance writing... That might take some effort..  
**Toni: **Thank you for all those compliments, I'm seriously flattered! Nothing keeps me writing more than nice reviews (though that did not exactly speed me up this time, sorry)  
**Avelyn Lauren: **Oh yes, she will be well protected.. We can be sure of that.  
**Kougaismyhomeboy: **Thanks for the compliments! I will take a look at your stories once I find the time to, and I'm sure they're not nearly as bad as you make them sound (that's just the little perfectionist in every one of us)  
**Stephanie: **Yes, I will be adding the occasional Sango/Miroku romance as you can see. Those two are just too adorable to disregard.  
**Roku: **Even more cute scenes here for you. I also threw in the snow storm/blizzard idea you might remember, just a little modified. Hope it is to your liking! Again, sorry for taking so awfully long to update.. Shame on me.  
**b.b: **How I know how a pregnancy test works? Well, I guess that's one of the things every girl/woman knows after a certain age (no, I haven't had any scares yet).  
**Melinda-chan: **Miroku always has to ruin things.. but still we can't help but love him. And thanks, my stay in the US was awesome! Kinda miss it already...

**Everybody: **Thank you for your support and for bearing with me even when I take 5 months to update. I will try my best to never let that happen again!


	7. Continuing Along the Path

**Chapter 7: Continuing Along the Path**

"InuYasha, come on", Kagome said impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground, "hurry or we'll be late for the appointment!"

After a few moments, the silver haired hanyou stepped out of the small hut, and, grumbling, walked up to the young woman. Despite his apparent disdain for their trip, he pushed his own wishes and will to the back of his mind and did what he had to. Together, they quietly set out for the well.

Three short weeks had passed since the snow storm and their exorcism in the mountains; Kagome was now far into the fifth month of her pregnancy. Consequently, it was now time for another check up with her doctor and one more – dreaded – ultrasound. However, Kagome had additional plans: since the pregnancy was progressing and her stomach growing rapidly, ninety percent of her wardrobe were now impossible for her to fit into. And as much as she hated the idea, she would use the visit in her time to try and find a solution to this small problem and see if she could not possibly make peace with the maternity wear she despised so deeply. Of course she would also pay a visit to her family; even though she still felt somewhat embarrassed about her situation, she missed everybody dearly and was also hoping to maybe get some pieces of good advice from her mother.

InuYasha, on the other hand, was about as enthusiastic about seeing Kagome's family as he was about the ultrasound and the time he would have to spend at the hospital. Ever since Kagome had told him about her plans, he had only grudgingly agreed. The hospital and the shopping, he would be able to deal with; but her family… It was mainly her grandfather who sent shivers down his spine. The old man had never grown completely accustomed to the hanyou's position in his family and his relationship with his granddaughter; and InuYasha could only imagine how much more the priest despised him now that he knew of the child they were expecting. Inwardly, the young man was bracing himself for the worst. He was prepared for war.

* * *

"Well, since everything seems to be progressing normally, I believe you should come in for another examination in about six to eight weeks. By that time, you might also want to think about preparations for the birthing process." The doctor finished his examination and politely lead his patient and her companion out of his office.

"Thank you, doctor", Kagome bowed, smiling "I will call in time to make an appointment then."

Thus said, Kagome and InuYasha quickly took the elevator to the first floor and left the extensive hospital. The minute the doors closed behind them, the tension in InuYasha's body decreased and he seemed to exhaled inwardly.

Kagome smiled over at the hanyou and gently took his hands.

"Now that wasn't _that _bad, was it?"

The young man raised his eyebrows.

"At least it's over now…" he answered, clearly relieved to be able to stay away from his most dreaded place for a while now. After they had walked down the sidewalk in silence for a few moments, he added: "Doesn't it bother you?"

"Hm?" Kagome turned her head to him, questioningly. "What should bother me? The hospital?" she shrugged and continued "I've never been one of those people who are afraid of hospitals or doctors or anything like that."

"That's not what I meant", the hanyou corrected her, shaking his head and, with crimson color in his cheeks, added: "Not the hospital. The whole _examination_ thing. Those machines… This guy touching you and all…?"

Kagome giggled; she knew where these questions came from. But even without him asking them, she would have known how difficult the situation was for InuYasha. The half demon could be so jealous that even the examination procedure drove metaphorical stakes through his heart.

"Well…", she finally began to answer his question and thought about how to best express her own feelings, "it _is _a little embarrassing at times; like it's something private that other people shouldn't be allowed to take part in. But after all it's to ensure that the baby is doing fine. And besides", she added, resting her head against his shoulder tiredly, "you were there with me, so it's all right."

"Yeah", he grinned, "and I expect a huge reward for coming along."

"That's something we can talk about later", she replied with a wink, "but now it's time to do some shopping, remember?"

InuYasha face faulted and let out a deep sigh. "This will have to be one big reward…"

The couple kept walking down the street, toward the nearest shopping district. The air was chilly this morning, and smelt of fresh snow that had yet to fall. It was unusually cold for November and many stores had already set up their Christmas decoration to take advantage of the wintery mood. Kagome drew closer to the hanyou and buried her left side in his crimson garments. Noticing her shivers, InuYasha looked down into her face with a smile and quietly placed a slender arm around her shoulders, pulling her in even closer. Thus warming up, they kept walking, passing colorfully decorated windows and small restaurants and cafés spreading delicious flavors and scents in the crowded streets.

At a larger department store Kagome stopped and quietly studied the displays. Whatever she saw seemed to meet her taste and the couple entered the huge building. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, waves of warm air and hundreds of other sensations came pouring over InuYasha and Kagome. Women's clothing, third floor, she remembered. She had been here several times before, but usually with some of her friends to get some new outfits, and never with her boyfriend to look for some new maternity wear… Slowly, they made their way through flocks of people to the escalators. Unconsciously, Kagome brought her free hand up and protectively placed it on her swollen stomach. InuYasha seemed similarly uncomfortable with the situation and pulled her even closer to him, making sure nobody came too close or even touched her.

Half a dozen of escalators and thousands of people in their way later, the couple finally reached their destination: the department of women's wear, which apparently also sold a rather large collection of clothing for the expecting female. A sigh escaping her lips, Kagome reluctantly stepped into the section and let her gaze wander over the displayed outfits. While she walked up and down the aisles, InuYasha made sure to never be too far from her side; just moments ago, he had thought that, after he had survived the horrors of the hospital's gynecology, nothing could possibly make him feel uncomfortable anymore. But he had been wrong. This place was almost as bad as the waiting room… Even though there were no posters of internal organs and the like, there was definitely a much larger share of pregnant women of all shapes, colors and sizes, happily dragging horrified husbands, boyfriends, or screaming children after them. The hanyou felt like he himself was on display in this store. Certainly, there were no hostile looks or comments toward him, but the women's smiles and men's sympathetic faces directed at him easily turned his face a deeper crimson than even his haori.

And while the hanyou tried to turn invisible through sheer will power, to perfectly blend in with his surroundings, Kagome kept eyeing the displayed outfits with dismay. Whatever she saw, nothing seemed right. It all looked so… _embarrassing…_ True, it was a weird choice of words, but it was exactly how she felt when she imagined herself wearing whatever she was looking at in that moment. The other female customers around her did not seem to have problems with such feelings at all: they happily walked around, picked up bits and pieces here and there and seemed generally quite content with what was offered to them.

_Maybe it's just me… _she tried to tell herself, _maybe I just have to give it a try…_ She reluctantly walked up to a rack and picked up a blouse and matching skirt that triggered the least strong feelings of embarrassment in her and walked over to the changing cubicle, leaving behind a terrified InuYasha. However, Kagome was back before he could even think of possible escape routes. She quickly shoved the clothes back onto the rack and walked over to InuYasha, her face a deep shade of crimson.

InuYasha looked at her questioningly with raised eyebrows and Kagome understood. She hastily shook her head.

"I'm not wearing any of that!" again, she brought up her hands to her stomach and nervously rubbed it, "I'd die from embarrassment before I could even leave the store!"

InuYasha gently placed an arm around her and slowly rubbed her side.

"Don't worry, if you don't wanna do it, you don't have to… and I can see why… We'll find something else."

Kagome nodded thankfully, and together they started to make their way for the exit. Upon reaching the second floor, however, Kagome stopped in her tracks and turned around.

InuYasha followed her gaze, yet did not see what could possibly have caught her interest.

"What is it?"

She shook her head and turned back toward him.

"Nothing. I just thought I'd seen someone I know. But I guess I was just imagining things."

* * *

"Kagome, welcome home!"

As soon as the young woman had opened the door to her family's home, her mother was right next to her and had already wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"I'm so glad you decided to stop by", Miss Higurashi let go of her daughter and took a step back. "You too, InuYasha. It's so good to see you. Please, come in, we're just having lunch."

Unable to say anything at all, InuYasha and Kagome simply smiled sheepishly and stepped into the rather large house and followed her mother into the kitchen. At the table sat the other remaining members of the family: Souta, Kagome's little brother, and her grandfather.

"Hey sis", Souta exclaimed happily, "and you brought niichan, too." The boy had always been fond of the hanyou. Since their first meeting, he had looked up to him as the father figure he had not had for such a long time.

"Hi Souta", Kagome replied, smiling, "And Grandpa" she added, looking at the old man across the table. InuYasha simply nodded at the two males and sank down right next to Kagome, as close as he possibly could. While Kagome's mother was happily busying herself preparing food for her two guests, the head of the household shot the hanyou dark looks. Looking back and forth between his granddaughter's swollen stomach and the young man at her side, he kept mumbling unintelligible words and finally folded his hands as if in prayer.

InuYasha's insides tightened and he scooted closer to Kagome, almost hiding behind her petite frame. The old man had never liked him, never liked his relationship with his granddaughter.

Kagome shot her grandfather a threatening look.

"Grandpa, please, would you stop trying to exorcize InuYasha?" she tried to keep her face straight despite the veins throbbing in her forehead.

"But… but…" the old man stuttered and within seconds, streams of tears came rushing down his face theatrically, "my granddaughter… my _only _granddaughter… my sweet little Kagome…"

"Your sweet little granddaughter", Kagome's mother replied calmly, placing the food on the table and then seating herself, "is a grown up woman now. And she is blessing you with a great-grandchild. Instead of bearing a grudge against InuYasha, you should be thankful to him."

Yet the old man's tears only increased. Desperately, he threw himself onto the table, sobbing loudly.

"My poor little Kagome… my little girl!"

* * *

After lunch, the group quickly disbanded. Kagome's grandfather had hurried over to the shrine – supposedly to pray to the gods that he was only dreaming and his precious granddaughter not expecting the offspring of some half demon - , said hanyou and Souta went to play videogames in the living room, which left the two women alone in the kitchen. After the dishes had been cleaned, mother and daughter sat down at the table to quietly enjoy some green tea.

"So how is everything?" the older woman started, "what did the doctor say?"

Kagome smiled and took a sip of the steaming hot tea.

"All's going fine so far; no problems. The baby's growing stronger and bigger every day." She said, patting her stomach.

Her mother laughed softly.

"Yes, I can see that; you've grown quite a lot."

Kagome sweatdropped. There was no need to remind her of her growing stomach; it was a 'problem' that never quite left her mind.

"Yeah, I know. I guess that's where InuYasha's genes kick in."

"Talking about him", her mother said, setting her cup down, "how is the expectant father?"

Kagome laughed.

"Probably more nervous than I am. And much more protective than I ever thought anyone could be. It's unbelievable, really. But I think he's really looking forward to the baby. It's kind of sweet…" she added with a smile.

"I'm sure he'll make a good father. He has taken very good care of you so far, and I trust him to do the same for my grandchild."

Kagome only nodded and smiled in reply, not really knowing what to say. InuYasha would do perfectly fine, that was for sure.

"I only wonder if grandpa will ever realize that…" she thought aloud, sweatdropping.

"Don't worry, Kagome", he mother said and gently placed a hand on top of her daughter's. "It'll be fine. Once he sees his cute little great-grandchild, he'll be perfectly happy." And with a smile and wink, she added: "Until then, let's hope that his exorcisms will continue to be as effective as they usually are."

* * *

Kagome stretched her back and with a deep sigh sank down into the soft cushions of her bed. What a nice change from her sleeping arrangements on the other side of the well!

"A soft bed after a long day, perfect!" she sighed happily.

InuYasha, who sat on the bed, cross-legged with his back against the wall, carefully placed her head in his lap and softly caressed the soft features of her face.

"Even better…" she smiled dreamily. It was incredibly how sensitive and gentle his strong hands could be, how relaxing a simple touch.

After a long silence, Kagome quietly spoke up again.

"Sorry for how grandpa acted today. … I mean, I see where he's coming from, but he's really overdoing it…"

InuYasha slowly shook his head.

"It's okay. He's afraid of losing you… just like I am…"

"InuYasha…" Kagome whispered, and turned over onto her side to be on eye level with him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I would never leave you."

Again, the hanyou shook his head and looked her straight in the eye.

"That's not what I mean. I know you won't. But what if I'm not able to protect you, or the baby? I might lose you both, and your family would lose you, too, because of me!"

"Silly", Kagome said with a gentle smile and placed a soft kiss on his worry-knitted brows. "Don't let grandpa's silly act get to you. Nothing will happen, and you won't lose me. Even if you want to, you won't get rid off me." She added with a smirk.

InuYasha answered her with a small smile and carefully leaned closer to her. Bringing her face up to his with his free hand, he softly placed his mouth on hers and gave in to the pleasures of a deep, passionate kiss, shoving his worries to the far back of his mind.

* * *

_Not again, _Kagome thought, as a sudden feeling of strong, stinging pressure in the lower regions of her abdomen roughly pulled her out of her deep sleep. Almost automatically, she pushed herself up from the mattress, careful not to wake InuYasha sleeping next to her and got out of bed. Her tired muscles screamed under the weight protruding from the front side of her body, but the urge would not cease. _Definitely one of the most annoying side effects_, she thought while she tiredly heaved herself to the bathroom and emptied her bladder. Stumbling back into her room and over the bed, she hoped that his would remain the only disturbance to this night's sleep. However, right when she was about to lie down on the bed and go back to sleep, she heard weird noises, grumbling, hissing.

"InuYasha…?" she asked, still half asleep and looked over at her companion.

Apparently, the hanyou was the source of the strange sounds; his face was contorted, as if he was in deep pain, his hands balled into fists so tightly that blood was threatening to flow from his palms any second.

Could he be having a nightmare? InuYasha? Kagome felt taken aback. She had never known him to dream at all, and certainly had never witnessed it.

She gently took a hold of his shoulder and shook him, trying to wake the agonizing form.

"InuYasha? InuYasha, wake up!" she whispered.

Slowly, the form stirred and after another few moments the young man opened his amber eyes. Aimlessly, he looked around until his eyes focused on Kagome and he seemed to remember where he was.

"K-kagome…"

"What's wrong, InuYasha?" she asked, a tiny hint of worry swaying in her voice. "You looked like you had a bad dream…"

InuYasha took another few moments to completely come to his senses until he nodded and turned his head away from her.

"Tell me about it…?"

"It… it's always the same", he started reluctantly, still facing away from her, "There is lots of blood, everywhere; it's all over me, on my hands, my clothes, my face… The smell makes me feel sick… It's …your blood… You're on the floor, somewhere close… I can see you… you're bleeding… but… but I don't feel sad… I only feel this urge to kill, anybody… Then I charge again. My claws tear right through you… your stomach… I can see it's you… I want to stop it… but the urge is stronger…"

His voice trailed off but he still did not dare to turn his head and look at her face.

Unshed tears were glistening in Kagome's eyes. He had been dreaming of his transformation into a full-fledged demon, of the state he feared most, when he was completely unable to control himself and was led only by the lust to kill. Even though he had not transformed in years, the simple possibility still seemed to haunt his mind. And it was only normal that it would resurface in a situation like this, when a loss of control would be able to do so much damage.

Quietly, she brought her arms around his torso and rested her head against his strong chest. He reacted, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her raven black hair.

"Don't worry, nothing like that will ever happen", she softly whispered, "We won't let it happen."

* * *

It had been quite late when InuYasha and Kagome had finally fallen asleep again, and thus morning came way too quickly. And while the tired couple shared a quick meal before they would start preparing for their departure through the well, there was suddenly a knocking at the door.

Kagome frowned and pushed herself up to see who their guest could be. InuYasha followed her in a short distance to be able to have an eye on her without being visible from the door.

"H-Hojo-kun…" Kagome stammered after she had opened the door and recognized her former classmate.

"Good Morning, Higurashi-san", he greeted her, bowing politely.

"Can I help you?" Kagome asked, somewhat unsure of what to make of this situation.

Hojo shook his head, smiling.

"Not exactly. I just wanted to give my congratulations."

Kagome blinked. "Congratulations?"

"For the baby", he replied, gesturing toward her largely swollen stomach. "I saw you at the store yesterday, you and your friend, InuYasha. I only noticed it then. So, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Hojo-kun", Kagome smiled, embarrassment pumping the blood through her veins at an astonishing speed. With one hand, she took the small package he held out to her, the other hand lay protectively on her stomach.

InuYasha, who had decided that this situation was starting to be far too private for his own good, walked up to her and placed and arm around her, a gesture that clearly stated: "Mine, don't touch!".

Hojo acknowledged his presence immediately and politely bowed to the hanyou – who had, of course, hidden his dog ears under his trusted base cap -.

"InuYasha, the expectant father, right?" he asked and received instant confirmation in the form of a nod from the silver haired boy. "Well I believe congratulations are in order for you as well". He said and bowed again. InuYasha simply returned the gesture with another short nod.

"Then, I have to get going; classes are about to start." He explained and smiled politely, turning to leave. While getting back to his bike, he looked back at InuYasha one last time.

"I hope I can trust you to take good care of Kagome."

* * *

**a/n: **_Another several months for an update, it's a shame. And I don't have any excuses besides the fact that my life is extremely busy and completely unpredictable right now. I have just finished an internship at a large Linguistics congress and am now about to start writing a 25-30page paper for a Field Works class. Oh, life can be fun… But still I can promise that I will finish this story; it will not be abandoned, no matter how blocked or busy I am. This story will receive it's proper ending (and I predict that to be in another 2 chapters, namely chapter 9, with a possible addition of Chapter 10: a short epilogue). I cannot predict how long it will take me to post the next chapter, since I am now in the most busy phase of my university life ever (just two more semesters to go..). But there will definitely be updates._

_So I dearly thank all of you for bearing the long waits and still sticking with me through this story. If it wasn't for you readers and reviewers, I wouldn't be writing at all. _**So don't forget, read and review!**

_And also: thanks for your comforting and reassuring words on the death of my grandfather. It really helped to read your views; and I am glad you shared them with me._

_Now on to the 'personal' comments on your reviews:_

**Avelyn Lauren: **I agree with you about Sesshomaru-sama. He is much more of the big brother than he would ever admit he is; and though I have not planned very far ahead yet, I am seriously considering a Sesshy scene.

**XBlackRoseX909: **Yes, five months, I know.. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me for making everybody wait so long, I'm trying my best. But I'm glad you like Inu's softer side. He really can be awesome, if he wants to be; just as much as he can be a jerk;)

**Melinda-chan**: Yeah, the tomatoes, I know.. I don't think so, either, I dunno what got to me there. And I'm proud of Miroku for showing the self-control he did show. I guess even he learns. If the rewards are right, he might even get used to it!

**Roku: **Yes, s- umm.. stupid things happen. But I believe they make us stronger if we learn to overcome them. Thank you for your comforting words. And I'm glad you liked the cute scenes – since I love writing them!

**Emkei: **Thank you for complementing my take on the Sango&Miroku relationship. Though there was no place for them in this chapter, they will be doubly back in the next ones. I am certainly not letting go of them for the sake of the others, so don't worry.

**ladykira: **The clothes problem is one that will appear again (and be solved) in the next chapter, so your question will definitely be answered then. As for the birth, it should be in chapter 9, if everything works as planned. So it's not that far off.


	8. Insecurity

**Chapter 8: Insecurity**

While InuYasha heaved a heavy backpack to the hut, Kagome made her way to greet her female friend sitting at the fire preparing lunch. The young couple had just returned from modern Tokyo after a doctor's visit and a short stop at her parents' to stock up on all those things aiding the expecting mother in the demanding current circumstances; fruits and vegetables to supply the necessary vitamins, herbal teas and homeopathic medication to ease as many of the occurring side effects as possible.

"Good morning, Kagome", Sango looked up and greeted her friend with a warm, welcoming smile, "how was the doctor's visit?"

With a sigh, the addressed young woman sat down across from the demon slayer and tiredly stretched her back.

"The baby's doing fine; the doctor said that everything is progressing according to his expectations", with a half-hearted smirk she added: "which I take as a positive diagnosis. InuYasha seemed a little more relaxed than last time, too."

Sango chuckled quietly. "That is always a good sign."

She stirred the fire, nudging the wooden blocks to keep the flames alive. Kagome, however, remained silent, staring at the reddish tongues with a sour expression. The demon slayer, knowledgeable of her friends' mimic after all those years of companionship, looked at her questioningly.

"What's wrong, Kagome-chan?" she enquired, "did anything happen back in your time?"

Kagome looked up, across the fire and quickly shook her head.

"No… Well, not really", she sighed, then continued to explain her problem. "Well, since I am … somewhat… 'growing', I don't exactly fit into most of my clothes anymore. So I decided to go look for some new pieces after I went to the doctor's. But everything was just so horribly embarrassing…" she ended with another sigh, hanging her head in frustration.

Sango tilted her head to the side and frowned.

"Why would you want to acquire special clothing for when you are expecting?" she asked confusedly.

Now it was Kagome's time to frown and questioningly look over at her friend.

"What do you mean? What else would you do?"

Her friend smiled gently. "I suppose sometimes people just cannot see the obvious."

* * *

"I can't believe I never thought of this…" Kagome shook her head in disbelief of her own unawareness. 

"That's all right", Sango commented with a smile, "How do they say? Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees."

Kagome nodded in agreement while she lifted her arms following the directions of her friend. With one final tug, the fabric was secured and the ordeal of dressing had come to an end.

"There you go", Sango finished, taking a step away from her friend to take in the whole picture.

The young miko was now dressed in a deep blue kimono richly decorated in a white petal design, complete with an exquisite while obi perfectly matching the darker color beneath it. Even though the demon slayer had originally purchased the gown for herself, she was more than happy to share it with her friend; even more so now that she was in dire need.

The kimono served its purpose perfectly: it easily embraced Kagome's changed outline as if it were designed for just this single purpose. The white obi completely covered the newly rounded stomach, providing extra warmth that was happily welcomed with winter approaching in quick steps.

"Thank you so much, Sango-chan", Kagome said and gratefully hugged her friend. "This takes care of one big problem."

Sango smiled warmly at her friend. "Anytime. But I think I should on Miroku and Shippou. Who knows what they are doing to our lunch…"

Giggling, both women stepped outside the hut and joined their male friends at the fire. Apparently, they had been able to take good care of everything during Sango's absence.

The young monk looked up at the miko and raised his eyebrows.

"A change in wardrobe, I see." He nodded, "Quite a good choice, I have to say."

"Thanks", Kagome replied, only to then look around the area, apparently searching for something. "Where did InuYasha go? He was here just a moment ago…"

Miroku nodded.

"He just left, saying something about one last thorough patrol before nightfall."

"Nightfall?" Shippou looked up questioningly from where he had been busying himself with a new game Kagome had brought him. "Why nightfall?"

"Tonight is new moon, remember?" the monk answered, looking around the faces of his friends.

Realization suddenly spread over Kagome's face and the young woman hid behind her hand in embarrassment.

"Right, tonight's new moon… no wonder he has been so on edge today", she muttered, "He's always hated the new moon…"

It was not a surprising fact; since it was on every night of the new moon that the hanyou lost all of his youkai powers and turned human until daybreak. For someone as concerned with control and protection as the hanyou was, becoming weak – even if only temporary – was far from agreeable. Even though his disdain for these bright nights had decreased since the defeat of Naraku – which had, after all, removed a grave danger from this world – he still relied greatly on his powers; even more so now that he not only had to protect his friends but also his other half carrying their child.

Shippou sneezed and, shivering, wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"Well, I hope he doesn't stay out too long; it's getting pretty cold already."

Kagome shook her head, smiling at the little kitsune youkai.

"He's always been back in time lately", she said, "and coldness doesn't bother him much. I just hope he manages to stay out of trouble this once."

Sango chuckled her friend's comment.

"You know him; he seems to be drawn to trouble. But maybe trouble is kind enough to be forgiving tonight."

* * *

The silver-haired hanyou raised his head into the air to once again pick up the scent he had been following for a while now. Since he had returned from modern Tokyo earlier that day, he had not been able to shake off the feeling of apprehension. In the beginning, he had simply attributed this emotion to the time of month, the nearing new moon entailing the loss of all his demon powers. Yet since he had picked up this particular scent, he was certain that there was a reason for his nervousness, other than the change of his state. 

He had immediately started following the scent, knowing that it was imperative to deal with its origin before nightfall. Even if it did not prove imminent danger during the day, with his full powers at his command, he could not risk leaving such powerful a threat disregarded at a time like this.

He ran on through the mountainous area, further and further away from the hut where he and his friends had taken up quarters, yet closer to the origin of the smell. And as he emerged from the small forest he had just traversed, he skidded to a halt. There, right before him, lay the source of his anxiety. Complete with entourage.

"Oh what a pleasant surprise. My dear little brother pays me a visit."

Sesshoumaru had noticed the arrival of his half-brother before any of his companions and took a few steps toward the silver-haired hanyou.

"Now, what is it you want with me?"

InuYasha gritted his teeth. Never in his life had he been on good terms with this member of his family, and more than once had he caused him great trouble in the most unfitting moments.

"I should be the one asking this question", he retorted, repressing a growl, balling his hands into fists "after all, this region is not your territory. And your coming here couldn't mean anything good. So get lost!"

"Why so aggressive?" Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows. Yet split seconds later, understanding raised the corners of his mouth into a smile. "Oh, I see. The night of the new moon is approaching. Yes, that would be the source of your tension."

InuYasha growled at the demon and placed a hand on his trusted katana.

"I told you to get lost", he growled through gritted teeth, "You've got no business here."

"Don't worry; I haven't come for a fight. I came for family matters. Bad timing, I suppose."

"Family matters?" InuYasha unconsciously tightened the grip on his katana's handle. Whatcould possibly qualify as _family matters_? There were hardly any familial bonds between the two half-brothers, safe for those created through the past fights about their father's heritage.

"I need to spell it out for you, don't I?" Sesshoumaru said, slightly shaking his head. "A short while ago, I received word that the female miko traveling with you is with child; your child, to be precise. And I came to determine whether this information is true or not."

InuYasha immediately fell into a defensive pose, now placing the second hand on the sheath of his katana, ready to draw whenever needed.

"How would that matter to you?" he barked.

Sesshoumaru's mouth transformed into a knowing grin.

"That reaction alone is answer enough. Aside from that, that sickeningly sweet stench of hers is still all over you." He commented. "I would offer you my congratulations, if I supported your choice."

InuYasha now needed the very last ounce of his strength to keep himself from attacking the youkai before him. He had promised Kagome to not get caught in any trouble; and worrying about him certainly would not be beneficial for her and their unborn child.

"I don't think I need your permission for anything!" he snarled aggressively, "You'd better stay away from Kagome; don't you dare lay your hands on her!"

Sesshoumaru once more shook his head.

"That impulsiveness of yours is quite irritating. I already told you I did not come for a fight", he corrected, "I merely came to confirm the information; personally, since I consider 'family' matters important enough to demand my personal attendance."

The youkai quietly placed his hand on the head of the small, dark-haired human child that had walked up to him.

"As I said, I do not support your choice, for many reasons. However, I acknowledge the path you have chosen and have decided to tolerate your mate and unborn offspring."

"Tolerate? Keh!" InuYasha spat, "Why the sudden change of mind?"

Sesshoumaru softly patted the top of the little girl's head, then placed his hand on her back to lead her away with the rest of his entourage. While walking off, he simply answered:

"Not all matters can be explained, _brother_."

* * *

InuYasha had returned to his friends soon after the strange encounter with the youkai, still replaying the scene before his inner eye, pondering its implications. The remainder of the day had passed quickly, in the uneasy air of tension, and night had soon fallen, the new moon darkening the land. And thus his strength had left him: his claws turned into human hands, his senses dimmed, his muscles softened. His insecurity grew. 

He now sat, once more, inside the hut, his back to the wall. Kagome's head was neatly planted in his lap; she had fallen asleep a couple of hours ago, her strength completely drained from the strain the progressing pregnancy had on her. Quietly, he ran his fingers across her swollen stomach, a bittersweet smile crossing his lips. The young woman slept deeply, apparently untroubled by worries or insecurities. He often wished to be able to share her optimism, her unwavering belief in her friends and herself. And in him, of course. It was her trust that had enabled him to achieve so much in his life, to defeat Naraku, restore the Shikon Jewel, battle foe after foe when peace seemed to be unattainable. It was her trust that had brought them to where they were now. He only hoped that he would never let her down.

Softly, he lifted her head off his lap and placed it on a comfortable cushion she had brought from her time. He carefully pulled the blankets up to her chin, making sure she would stay warm even in the cold air, before he noiselessly stood up and stepped out of the hut.

* * *

The young woman stirred in her sleep. Something had changed, yet at first, she could not tell what it was. She was still warm and comfortable, and there were no other troubles bothering her, no pains, no worries. Still, something was not the way it was supposed to be. 

Reluctantly, she pried her eyes open and tried to make out shapes in the complete blackness around her. For moments, she was in a daze, unable to really think or take in any of her surroundings. Yet as soon as the haze lifted, she knew immediately what was wrong: InuYasha had apparently left the hut and was nowhere in sight. Although it was not unusual for the hanyou to remain awake during the night while the others slept, he hardly ever left her side; even less so during the nights of the new moon, when they had decided staying in a group was the most secure way of resting.

With a sigh, she pushed herself up from the floor, wrapping the blankets tightly around her body to ward off the chilly night air waiting just outside the thin walls. Nevertheless, she stepped through the opening, out into a world brightly lit by cold moonlight.

It did not take her long to spot the sleepless hanyou in his human form: he was sitting in a little distance of the hut, staring off into the distance.

Quietly, she walked up to him, sank down close to him and wrapped them both in the protective blankets. He looked up at her, surprised, a frown still etched into his forehead. Yet before he could even scold her for coming outside, Kagome spoke up.

"Can't have you freeze out here, can I?" she smiled and gently lay her head on his shoulder. He was cold; his human body was much more affected by the coldness than his hanyou form had ever been.

"You should be sleeping", InuYasha said softly, "you need rest."

"So do you", Kagome answered, "I can never really sleep without you there, you know that."

"But it's too cold out here", he tried again.

"Well", Kagome started, growing slightly impatient, "it's just as cold for you. That's why I brought the blankets."

He remained silent; he knew that he had lost. Kagome would never agree to go back to sleep, leaving him outside, alone, with his thoughts.

"So what were you thinking about?" she asked, looking up into the starry sky and back at the now human man sitting by her side, "anything happen today?"

InuYasha shook his head, staring down at his clawless hands.

"Not really", he began. After a few moments, he continued hesitantly, "I met Sesshoumaru today; he came to ask about you."

Kagome raised an eyebrow and glanced up at him.

"He'd heard about the child and wanted to make sure, I guess. He seemed strange though, said he'd _tolerate_ my choice… He also still had that girl with him."

"Oh, you mean Rin?" Kagome added, "I think he's kind of attached to her, even though she's a human. But you never know, people change. Maybe even somebody like Sesshoumaru is able to feel compassion. And I'd say for him tolerance is already more than I'd expected."

InuYasha chuckled quietly and drew Kagome closer to him, pressing her warm body against his. Yes, maybe even somebody like him was able to change, and, ultimately, to feel.

"Whether he is our enemy or not, or was in the past, we've always managed. And we will manage in the future; I have no doubt about that." Kagome stated plainly and snuggled up closer to InuYasha.

The hanyou softly placed a hand on her stomach, caressing it under the thick blankets, and with a smile, added: "I guess your optimism will do for both of us."

It all fell silent. Only a few distant cries of animals and the rushing of a low breeze disrupted the silence, until a sharp noise cut through the air.

Kagome shivered slightly and rubbed her nose.

InuYasha shot her an amused look.

"Sneezing already? Guess it's about time to go back inside", he said, already helping her stand up while holding her close enough to share his body warmth.

"I guess you're right", she said sheepishly and accompanied him back to the welcoming warmth of the little hut.

* * *

Sango watched as the hanyou get up from his spot right beside Kagome and left the hut. With an inward groan, she turned around sleepily, deciding to disregard the disturbance and just go back to sleep. Soon, she drifted off into a light slumber, returning to her peaceful dreams, only to be cruelly reawakened only minutes later. Prying one eye open, the demon slayer saw the other young woman rise from her sleeping place and follow the hanyou. 

_Perfect_, she thought to herself. Being a light sleeper might be extremely helpful if not even essential in war times but could be major nuisance when sleep should remain undisturbed. With a sigh, she turned around, trying to just go back to sleep.

Minutes passed and the silence seemed to grow deafening. She could hear her heart beat, the blood gushing through her veins. And finally the shivers set in. The air seemed to grow colder and colder, stiffening her face. She sighed once more.

"Sango?" a quiet voice inquired.

The young woman raised her head in the direction of the voice.

"Miroku? Why are you asleep?" she asked in reply.

"I could be asking you the same question", came the answer with a chuckle.

"Well, it is kind of cold…" she said reluctantly, crimson spreading across her face.

In the shadows, she could make out the gesture she had been waiting for and shyly – even though happily – crept across the floor to the young monk who gently placed his blanket around her slender body, sharing it with her.

"This should help." He said softly.

Instead of answering, Sango simply slid closer to him, contentedly smiling and closed her eyes. Within moments, she had finally fallen into a deep slumber.

The young man, however, preferred to remain awake and watch the form sleeping peacefully next to him. He had discovered that there were certain rewards for being a gentleman. And these were most definitely worth all the self control he had been practicing so rigidly lately.

* * *

_**a/n: **I realize that it has been an eternity since the last update, and I sincerely apologize. Life, and especially uni, are extreme pains at the moment and burying me in work (master's thesis of 60-80 pages coming up, along with two written and two oral examinations). But today I finally found some time to write, so this was all basically done in one session. It is now about 3:30am, so you can probably understand how tired I am - and thus longing for my bed... _

_Again, sorry for the extremely long wait._ _I am not quite sure if this chapter made up for it, my inspiration is dwindling lately, but I hope you can take my apology and enjoy this piece anyway. Please, drop me a note and give me your thoughts! Good Night **snooze**_

_**Edit: mistake corrected. Of course it was new moon… I guess it was just far too late for my own good last night'**_

* * *


	9. Where she belongs, what she deserves

**Chapter 9: Where she belongs, what she deserves**

Several weeks had passed since Kagome's last visit to modern Tokyo and the ensuing checkup and the young woman was now well into the sixth month of her pregnancy, soon to enter the seventh. As a result, her already rounded stomach seemed to be relentlessly growing with each passing day, the side effects become more frequent and intense. Naturally, InuYasha was increasingly reluctant to let her travel around the land, whatever the reason of the journey may be. Thus, he had accompanied her and the young demon slayer to their latest task, the blessing of a newly built house in a nearby town. Since the trip had required them to be on the road for several days on end, Miroku and Shippou had decided to stay behind to take care of whatever problems might arise in the hanyou's absence.

During the last few miles, the silver haired man had dropped behind a little, letting both women walk in front of him; close enough for them to still be in sight and thus within his protective reach, yet also far away enough to allow them to talk to each other, undisturbed.

_Girl talk, _as they had called it. He had little idea of what kind of conversation that might possibly be, but he had the odd feeling that he would be better off with a bit of a distance between them nevertheless.

"Well, he _is_ a little overprotective lately, but he's starting to see how far he can go." Kagome answered with a chuckle. The two young women had been in deep conversation for hours, jumping back and forth between various topics, usually however, returning into a certain direction…

"It _is_ cute, though." Sango said, smiling, "it just shows how much he cares about you."

"Well, talking about boys", the miko grinned and looked at her friend, resting her hands on her stomach, "how are things going with you and Miroku lately?"

Upon hearing his name, Sango's face immediately turned a deep shade of crimson.

"I don't know what you mean…"

"There's no use hiding it, Sango-chan", Kagome smiled "I've seen you two cuddle up to each other pretty often. You seem to be a bit less harsh with him lately."

Sango's blush darkened, if that was at all possible.

"Well… he is behaving more… gentlemanly now; and I have to say", she added with a sideways smirk at Kagome, "I quite like it."

* * *

InuYasha had caught up with the two young women again, now that they were coming closer to their destination, and protectively walked directly next to Kagome. Had Sango not been with them, he could not have resisted placing his slender but toned arm around his mate. He simply preferred for intimacies, even ones as small as a short embrace, to be between themselves only, without any spectators. The hanyou had never been an openly emotional person – save for the times when his rage and anger broke free.

As the sun was sinking deeper and deeper in the sky, elongating their shadows on the muddy road, their destination finally came into sight. The small hut looked unchanged – certainly, what changes could be expected after so sort an absence. A small stream of smoke constantly escaped the small dwelling, indicating the warm and welcoming fire Miroku and Shippou had undoubtedly ignited to fight the bitterly cold air.

After a few more minutes, the three returning travelers had finally come within hearing range, quite surprised at the silence that hung in the air.

"Miroku? Shippou?", Sango asked curiously, quickening her step, "are you there?"

A rustling sound arose from the hut and within a few seconds, the small kitsune youkai stepped through the opening, wiping his forehead with the back of his small hand as if in exhaustion.

"Sango! Kagome-chan!" he cried, relieved "I'm glad you're all finally back!"

Sensing that something had to be wrong for Shippou to behave in such a fashion, Kagome and InuYasha hastened over to their friends.

"What's wrong, Shippou-chan?" Kagome inquired worriedly, "and where is Miroku?"

The boy pointed toward the hut, letting out a sigh.

"He's resting inside", he replied. "He has a low fever and keeps coughing and sneezing. I've made him some herbal tea but it isn't really helping."

Upon hearing those words, Sango immediately vanished inside the hut, apparently deeply concerned for her sick comrade. Yet when Kagome attempted to do the same and follow her friend, the man at her side gently pulled her back by the arm. She turned around to look at him questioningly and he instantly shook his head with a stern look.

"You shouldn't go in there", InuYasha simply stated, "You might catch the sickness from him."

"Oh, come on, InuYasha", Kagome replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "there is nothing dangerous in a small cold. And on top of that, I do know a lot more about medicine than all of you do."

The hanyou sighed. He had expected her resistance and knew he could not win against her. He knew she was right, yet he still was not able to keep his overprotective side from voicing its thoughts.

* * *

"There you go", Kagome said and gently, with a smile, placed a wet rag on Shippou's forehead. After being with the sick monk, the young fox demon had apparently caught the illness as well, since he was now showing the same symptoms: low fever, shivering, all accompanied by a constant coughing.

"Thank you", he smiled weakly and rolled over.

Next to him lay Miroku; even though the young man had been afflicted several days longer, he had not yet recovered. He was asleep, the beads of sweat shimmering on his forehead. Both of them were wrapped in various layers of blankets, yet that still did not stop their bodies from shivering.

Kagome quickly coughed into her hand, hoping nobody had noticed, and wiped her forehead. She, as well, seemed to have contracted the cold a couple of days ago, but so far the effects had been rather mild so that even InuYasha had not noticed. Now, however, her strength apparently started to fail her; her pregnancy was requiring the largest portion of all the defensive mechanisms that usually kept her body healthy and safe.

"I knew it…", she heard grumpy voice from the entrance of the hut causing her to almost jump out of her skin, had she not been hindered by the extra weight in her abdomen. "All right, you'll lay down now."

InuYasha slowly stepped inside and walked up to her. With a few quick movements, he prepared her a large heap of cushions and blankets; holding up the blankets on side, he silently demanded her to lie down.

Kagome looked at the silver haired hanyou with a somewhat displeased expression on her face.

"It's not as bad as it looks", she tried, "I'm fine, really. Miroku and Shippou still need somebody to take care of them."

The unwavering look in his eyes told her that she did not stand a chance.

"And so do you now", he replied. "Please, Kagome…" he added gently, the worries buried deep inside of him almost breaking through his hardened features; imperceptible to most, yet obvious to those who had been allowed to see the hanyou's human side.

With a sigh, Kagome resigned and, with a bit of an effort, slid under the thick blankets. The content and relieved smile betrayed her earlier resistance and clearly showed how much her strained body welcomed the small relaxation.

A small smile crossed InuYasha's lips and, leaning over her, he pressed a quick kiss on her forehead, making sure none of the other two patients were watching.

"I'm back, Kagome-chan", Sango's voice sounded and shortly thereafter, the demon slayer stepped inside, "I got all the herbs you… Huh?" She blinked quickly, taking in the sight before her. Her surprised gaze went back and forth between Kagome and InuYasha. It appeared that she had also not known that her friend was afflicted with their companions' illness.

She carefully set down the basket full of medical herbs she had been carrying and knelt down beside Kagome.

"Why didn't you say anything, Kagome-chan?" she asked with a scolding look. Quickly, she felt her forehead for her temperature and started preparing another cold cloth.

"You two are exaggerating", the miko replied, shaking her head and rested her hands on her largely swollen stomach. "I guess I just need a short rest and I'll be fine."

Even before InuYasha could raise his voice, Sango sharply interrupted.

"You will rest until we allow you to get up", she wrung the wet cloth over the bowl, turned around and gently placed the dripped fabric on the other woman's forehead. "There is no need to take any unnecessary risks."

When she was done, Sango stood back up and, after looking over to InuYasha, her gaze slid over and came to a rest on her three sick friends.

"This is turning out to be quite troublesome", she commented with a wrinkled brow, "I wish we had something like this funny medicine from Kagome's time."

Kagome could have slapped herself for her own stupidity. She had been in the Sengoku Jidai for so long that she had completely forgotten about the possibilities her own world had developed. She was just about to sit up as she felt InuYasha's hand resting on her should, gesturing her to remain lying down.

His eyes met her gaze and he shook his head.

"Just leave that to me. You stay here and rest."

* * *

InuYasha quietly hopped out of the well and crouched, raising his nose into the air. It was not like he was on enemy territory, but he could never be careful enough. After all, he was a rather peculiar sight to those native to Kagome's time. In addition to that, he could pick up the faint scent of her grandfather; and meeting him was a thought which sent shivers down his spine. Being exorcized for dirtying the granddaughter that apparently was oh so dear to him was actually not one of his favorite past time activities.

Quickly, constantly surveying the surroundings and trying to stay out of sight of any possible spectators, he left the safety of the small shrine that had been built around the ancient well connected to the Sengoku Jidai and leapt across the yard. Luckily, he seemed to make it to the house unseen, unobserved.

He quietly opened the front door to the house and stepped into the hospitable, warm surroundings. Christmas decorations had already been set up and a deliciously smelling meal was boiling on the stove. Kagome's mother, however, was nowhere to be seen, in neither the kitchen nor any of the adjacent, downstairs rooms.

"Oh, hi, Inu-no-niichan!" a young voice sounded from the top of the stairs. Souta, Kagome's younger brother, had apparently heard the visitor entering and become curious on why he had remained unannounced.

"Souta", InuYasha simply replied, nodding, as he turned around to him.

"Where's Kagome?" the boy answered, descending the last few steps until he was on same height with the hanyou.

"She stayed back home", came the answer. An answer that might well seem strange, since this house, and the family living in it, would normally be dubbed the young woman's home; however, her main reason for living, her source of energy and happiness had long ago moved to the Sengoku Jidai and certainly the people originating from it. "She and some of the others are sick. I came to get some of that medicine." He added shortly.

Souta seemed mildly surprised. Usually, InuYasha would not come for something like that, so there had to be a certain degree of seriousness to the whole affair. It could, nevertheless, not be too serious, since the silver-haired hanyou seemed rather quiet and calm.

"Just wait a sec", the boy answered quickly and turned around, running back upstairs. Moments later, he returned, his mother in tow.

"Hello, InuYasha", Mrs. Higurashi smiled kindly. She had always been supportive of her daughter's relationship with the hanyou and appeared to be only interested in Kagome's happiness rather than any prejudices or second thoughts. From the beginning, she had developed a relationship of trust and familial love with him.

InuYasha answered with an earnest nod, and followed the middle-aged woman on her way through the house just as she had gestured. They quickly reached the bathroom where she opened a small cabinet containing dozens of little bottles, boxes and other peculiar containers.

"Now what did you say the symptoms are?" she asked, already looking at some of the bottles' inscriptions.

He roughly explained the illness in clumsy sentences, nodding his head to one side, thinking.

Apparently, he descriptions were good enough for the experienced woman and she quickly pulled out several tiny bottles of the same shape and color, most likely multiple instances of the same medicine, carefully put them into a small, linen bag and handed it to InuYasha.

"This should help", she said, and added: "Just give them each one spoonful, three times a day with some liquid and they should be better soon."

InuYasha nodded shortly. "Thank you."

"Oh, and could you wait a little bit, I'd like to give you something." Without even waiting for his answer, she had already vanished, busying herself about some of the rooms, gathering objects.

When she returned a few minutes later, she was laden with about half a dozen blankets, scarves, gloves and other pieces of warm clothing. Passing the garments into his arms, she smiled.

"These might come in handy", she explained, "It should be getting cold over in your time, too."

He nodded thankfully and started making his way back out of the house to the well. Yet right before he could enter the shrine and thus jump into the well to return to his comrades and mate, her mother raised her voice once more and called his name. He turned around hastily, curious to what she might have to say.

The older woman had stepped out of the house hugging herself for some warmth.

"Please take good care of Kagome", she called, "and come visit us soon; we really miss her!"

"I will, Mrs. Higurashi", InuYasha answered promptly, before finally vanishing inside the shrine. Leaving one home was indeed never easy, no matter how much you loved your new surroundings. Sometimes, you just could not take everything you wished and had to leave behind important and loved ones.

* * *

"And be careful!" Miroku called weakly as Sango left the hut. The fire was dying down and the demon slayer had thus decided not to wait for InuYasha to return but rather to go fetch some firewood herself. And even though he knew how skillful and strong she was, the young monk could not help but worry about her.

Kagome smiled and, with some effort, turned around to him and propped her head up on her elbow.

"Well, now that is a side of you we don't see all that often." She commented with a smirk.

Miroku looked at her for a moment before lying back down and resting his head on his arms. Even through the dimming light, a gentle blush could be seen on his cheeks.

"Times change, I guess", he said, and for some moments, remained silent. He then added, lowly: "She has always meant a lot to me."

Kagome smiled gently. Yes, it had been rather obvious. Even though the young monk had always hit on women left and right, seemingly not willing to devote his whole attention to one single specimen of that gender, those who really knew him had seen the signs. Had seen, how he had always looked out for Sango, how he had tried to mask his own jealousy when other men had eyed her, how he had gladly welcomed her smacks to his cheek as a sign of how she still cared. They had seen those small sideway gazes when he thought nobody was watching, had seen the worry in his eyes when she was fearlessly running off into battle. They had always known.

"You are an important person to her", Kagome said quietly after a while, "I'm really happy to see how things are going."

Silence fell over the hut; only the crackling of the small fire was to be heard, along with Shippou's low breathing as the small fox demon enjoyed his dreams.

"She deserves a good man", Miroku softly concluded after a few minutes silence. "It just took me a while to realize that I had to shape up to be just that someone. She should never have to settle for anything or anyone less than perfect."

Kagome felt like letting out a long, dreamy sigh, but decided to simply lie back down, close her eyes and smile to herself. The young man obviously did not realize that he already had Sango's heart. She loved him, deeply and earnestly; even with all his faults and flaws, she had never had space for anyone else inside her heart. She would love him, perfect or not.

* * *

"Even after all this time, it's still disgusting…" Kagome whispered, shuddering. She had been taking the medicine for a couple of days now, but would probably never get used to its better taste.

"Well, as long as it helps." InuYasha replied, quietly. The other three – Miroku, Sango and Shippou – seemed to be fast asleep, tired from the strain of the illness, the chilly air and caring for each other. Therefore, Kagome and InuYasha were trying to keep their voices down as far as possible not to wake up any of them. They all deserved their sleep and rest.

Kagome sighed, resting her head back in InuYasha's lap and placed her hands on the various layers of blankets covering her swollen stomach. Gently, the hanyou ran his fingers along her cheek and through her silky raven hair, causing her lips to form a content smile.

"You know…", he started hesitantly, "all of this might not have happened back in your time."

Kagome knew what he was talking about, and he was certainly right. Sicknesses like colds and flues, ones that could have serious results in the Sengoku Jidai, were hardly any danger in modern Tokyo. They had talked about this before, many times already.

"I know", she admitted quietly, "but you know that this is where I feel I belong. This is where I have a purpose, where I can really make a difference."

She looked up into his eyes and, catching his gaze, smiled.

"This is where you are."

InuYasha smiled in reply and bent down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I just want what is best for you", he replied, "and for our child."

"Being with you is what's best for me", Kagome replied with a small smirk. "And besides; it's not like I can never go back. That way is always open for both of us. I like to believe that we can have the best of both worlds."

InuYasha laughed inwardly. It was just like her to see the positive side of everything. Other people might have felt trapped, caught between two worlds without any true sense of belonging. Kagome, however, had long ago accepted the situation and made the best of it. She had found her place; and that, by no means, meant only a geographical or temporal location. It was, in fact, more of an inner peace, a sense of having reached an emotional destination.

Suddenly, Kagome's chuckle pulled InuYasha from his thoughts.

"What is it?" he asked confusedly.

"It's just kicking me again", Kagome replied with a smile and started to gently massage the corresponding area of her stomach. "Definitely inherited its father's strength."

InuYasha grinned at her comment and quickly let his right hand slip under the blankets and the fabric of her kimono and come to a rest on her swollen stomach. With a soft motion, she guided his fingers.

"There."

Within seconds, a small but very definite kick bulged the soft skin under his hand, for one short moment let him feel the growing life inside of her. No matter how often he felt this sensation, it never failed to amaze him. It added a completely new sense of reality to the circumstance. It was in those moments that he truly realized he would soon be the father of a newborn child, offspring of him and the young woman that had taught him how to feel. Since she had so surprisingly entered his life a few years ago, so many things had changed. And now he saw himself facing new situations, contentedly embracing responsibilities he would have abhorred before.

"Who would I be without you…" he mumbled hardly audibly before once again leaning down and pressing his lips passionately to hers.

As their mouths separated and he sat back up, a silence set in. Their comrades' low, rhythmic breathing softly lulled into a comfortable daze.

Until a sharp, hissing sound rang through the air.

Kagome laughed softly while InuYasha rubbed his nose in annoyance.

"Bless you."

* * *

Sango sighed deeply. Being a light sleeper was truly a pain. Just when she had finally fallen asleep after overhearing a sweet conversation between InuYasha and Kagome, she had been rudely awakened by little Shippou talking in his sleep. Apparently, the little youkai was once again dreaming of his adult self, the dashing, powerful man who could be relied on to save the day.

Very quietly, trying not to wake anyone up herself, she sat up and grabbed for a flask to get a sip of cold tea. Slowly, the frostiness of the winter's air crawled through the layers of her clothes and sent unpleasant shivers up her spine. Hugging herself, she rubbed her arms, trying to keep herself warm and looked around the room. When her eyes crossed the face of the young monk next to her, she almost yelped in shock. His eyes were half-opened and tiredly watching her.

"Don't scare me like that!" Sango whispered sharply.

Miroku chuckled quietly and propped himself up. There was only a good foot of space between them.

"I'm sorry, I did not intend to." He apologized, smiling. "I'm just somewhat of a light sleeper and heard you moving."

Sango smiled at the coincidence and put the flask back into her bag.

"You should really go back to sleep", she said with a bit of concern wavering in her voice. "You're still not completely well."

Miroku opened his mouth to reply but thought better; instead, he looked down at his hands and let a few minutes pass in silence.

"Thank you…", he finally brought out.

"Hm?" Sango blinked.

"Thank you, for taking care of me all that time", he added in explanation, "I know I don't always deserve it."

Had it not been freezing cold, Sango's face had probably burned up from the amount of blood rushing into it. A happy smile crept to her lips; she sought his gaze.

"Don't worry about it." She said simply before boldly leaning over, crossing the small empty space and gently placing a soft kiss on his surprised lips. "Just don't worry about it."

* * *

_a/n__: Yes, I am aware of how long it has taken me to update… again. All I can do is try to explain how much stress I am under lately, and now that I have just successfully passed two written and one oral exam and started working on my master's thesis, that is not likely to change. I just hope that you can be patient and forgiving with me. I really want to underline that this story is, as you can see, not on hiatus but rather still my top priority in fanfiction. _

_I will do my best to finish this story (__let's__ hope I can find the time to do so before Christmas and won't have to make you wait so long again…) and deliver you an ending that you will like! I expected this story to end after another two chapters (being one actual chapter and one epilogue, which is how I usually handle things). I __cannot, however, make__ any definite promises since I do not have made any concrete plans yet._

_Well, until then, please enjoy this chapter (or rather: I hope you did!) and please leave me a review. It __would be greatly appreciated_

_P.S.: Yes, I know InuYasha was rather… at a loss of words during this chapter; I don't exactly know why but I hope you don't mind too much' _

_Now on to the individual review-replies:_

**Chocolate-****wolfie** Glad to hear you're still following! And thanks for the good wishes! I do know about the usual typos and mistakes I make, but those largely result in the fact that, once the chapter is finished, I want to bring it to you all as fast as possible and usually don't take the time to proof-read. I really should start doing that…

**ShinaVirtue**Yes, please don't lose hope! I always update, it just takes time.. hehe…

**Sadaf**** Khan: **Well.. Kikyo… Good question, I've been playing around with it in my mind myself. I believe that she is finally resting. After all, that is – at least I believe so – what the real Kikyo would have wanted. She was not a resentful person; and finally giving her a rest is what she deserves – in a positive way. Well well, there you see that I don't have all of it planned through so neatly..

**Kapu37: **Oh, thank you! That compliment actually felt pretty good.. hehe.. I'm glad you like my style of writing; hope you're happy with this chapter, too!

**FrillingFreak**Oh, another compliment! I need more of those! No, just kidding .. hehe.. but thank you so much! It is good to hear that I am able to do what I intend with my fanfiction, namely evoking the same pictures that I see when writing in those who read my little stories.

**Fullmetal****chibi****-chan: **Yes, I know what you mean, thank you! I've stumbled on many of those fanfictions myself and, even though some of them are pretty well written, I just cannot help but feeling that that is not the way the manga would have taken (not that this story is much more realistic…); physical relationships have just never been the focus in InuYasha, and I just prefer to 'dwell' on what I believe makes the story what it is: emotions emotions emotions :)

**Melinda-chan: **Oh yes, it has been a long time, and yes, there were typos, and I believe there are some in this one, too. I will be sure to check all the chapters again once the story is done. Before that, the main priority is finishing, then comes the polishing :). In chapter 8, she should have been about 5 months (late 5th) pregnant, at the beginning the 9th you will find her entering her 7th month. And I don't think Sesshoumaru would pose a problem. True, he is not to fond of humans in particular, but I believe that, over time, the feelings he has developed for Rin (and I am not implying anything like romance yet, just the general compassion and comradery) have made him rethink his view of InuYasha's relationship with Kagome. Being the youkai he is, he certainly would never admit it. But I think that accepting his brother's relationship with a human and eventually their procreation is as much as you can expect.

**Bianca: **Thank you, that really means a lot! I tend to finish stories once they've reached a certain point, and I definitely would not stop so close before the finish. So you definitely don't have to be afraid of this fanfic to ever reach the "on hiatus" state.

**みんな****: Thank you all ****alot**** for reviewing. It really keeps me going. If it ****wasn't**** for you, I really don't know if I had ever come this far with this story!**** "Who would I be without you…" ;) **


	10. Interlude Before the Dawn

**Chapter 10: Interlude Before the Dawn**

"I don't know…", she answered hesitantly. "I don't think that's going to work…"

Next to Kagome, supporting her head with his shoulder, Inuyasha had crossed his arms in front of his chest, his forehead wrinkled in thought.

"Why not? What's wrong with it?" he asked, glancing at her from out of the corner of his eye.

Kagome sighed. Apparently, the hanyou just did not understand the obvious problem. It was at times like these that their different origins became evident.

"In a way, a name defines a person", she tried to explain as simply as possible, "Eventually, our son or daughter will go to kindergarten and school; just imagine what would happen if he or she had a name that went out of use hundreds of years ago."

InuYasha let out a thoughtful noise and nodded in understanding. Those were factors the hanyou had certainly not thought of taking into consideration when offering one of his family's traditional names as that of their firstborn. He had never known the kind of childhood Kagome had experienced and which – at least in part – also awaited their child. He had not needed a poorly chosen name to suffer from discrimination; his heritage – in fact his birth – alone had been enough to damn him in the eyes of the majority of the people.

"This is much more difficult than I thought."

"Exactly", Kagome answered, chuckling to herself. "All of those books on choosing names are there for a reason."

The hanyou turned his head slightly to look at her, yet not enough to destroy her comfortable position on his shoulder.

"Books, huh?" and hesitantly, he added, "Maybe we should get some of those when we go to your time."

Kagome raised an eyebrow in surprise. Although quite pleased that the suggestion had come from him rather than her, she was still astonished how quickly he had given in to help. Then again, despite the nearing time of their child's birth, InuYasha had become much calmer in the past few weeks. Knowing the hot-blooded half-demon, however, she quickly figured that he was simply trying to remain composed for her sake, keeping all possible causes of stress as far away as possible. A comforting thought, she had to admit; it warmed her heart remembering how much he had come to care for and love her. The once proud loner, set on nothing but his own desires, had truly developed into a considerate companion, valuing the life and wishes of others more than even his own.

That, of course, was not to say that he had completely let go of his stubbornness: the hanyou still knew when and how to make his opinion count, when he considered it beneficial for all parties.

Said hanyou let out a yawn and stretched his neck, glancing over at the dying fire.

"The others should be back with the food any time", he stated tiredly, "I'd better go get some firewood."

He shifted slightly, allowing for the woman at his side to carefully remove her head from his shoulder. She stretched her back equally tiredly and leaned back to come to a rest with her upper body against the cool wall.

The concerned words 'Be careful' stood silently in the air. Both would have uttered them as advice and wish to the other, had they not known that they were already part of the mute agreement they shared.

Lately, when leaving the hut without her, InuYasha never went far, always staying within hearing distance, out of pure concern that something might happen in his absence. He abhorred leaving her by herself in the first place, yet in some circumstances it was simply unavoidable. Thus he had learned to make do with the situation as it presented itself to him and found his own compromise.

He placed a quick kiss on her lips – a gesture he only allowed in the absence of extra pairs of eyes – and stepped toward the entrance of the hut.

"I'll be right back", he declared firmly and swiftly made his way outside.

* * *

A slight shiver went through his steeled body as a freezing draft brushed down the hills and past his back. With the nearing of Christmas – a holiday Kagome had insisted in introducing to her group of friends a long time ago – the temperature had dropped astonishingly low. It was now freezing day and night, and the few clouds appearing in the sky more and more frequently brought with them delicate flakes of snow. 

Once more the hanyou stretched his neck as he stepped forward, further away from the hut, the icy grass crunching under his feet. He raised his head high into the air, allowing his nose to catch the multitude of scents carried on the breeze.

"Okay, come on out", he commanded suddenly with a strong voice "and tell me what you're sneaking around here for."

Instantly, a soft rustle could be heard in the neighboring trees and with a swift motion, a slender figure bounced onto the ground a few feet from the hanyou.

"Don't get cocky, inukorro", the youkai said, eyebrows raised in annoyance, "I'm not here to talk to you."

Inuyasha turned toward the wolf demon and looked at him with a surprisingly composed expression, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I told you to leave her alone."

"You have no right to order me around", Koga retorted angrily, "I'm here to make sure that Kagome is doing fine; wouldn't want to trust you with it."

Anybody the least bit familiar with the hanyou's usual temper would, at this point, expect the silver haired man to lose the former and challenge his opponent to a deadly duel. Gathering, however, all of his available self control, he gritted his teeth and let his face turn rigid.

"Kagome is fine", he stated plainly, "Now that you know that, you can leave."

Koga snorted and shifted his weight onto his right leg, cockily placing his hands to his hips. Yet just as he was about to respond to his rival, a noise caught the men's attention: the entrance of the hut opened, spilling out warm light and revealing the blanketed form of Kagome. She had slung a thick kimono around herself and now slowly stepped outside and, taking in the scene before her, took a step toward the two men.

"Koga-kun", she said, smiling, "I thought I'd heard your voice."

While Inuyasha quickly stepped over to his partner, a rush of protectiveness overcoming him, the youkai simply stood frozen in awe, staring at the female in front of him. Although her smile alone was hypnotizing to him, at this point in time her body attracted all of his attention. Even through the kimono she was wearing and the additional one she had hurriedly slung around herself in manner of a blanket, her stomach was protruding very visibly. Not having seen Kagome in months, the change in her appearance appeared even more drastic. This rude reminder drove icy daggers through his chest once more. There was no denying – and certainly no forgetting – that she was having a child. The hanyou's child.

"K-kagome…" he stuttered, still struggling for composure as he dared to take one step closer to her and – consequently – to Inuyasha.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the hanyou made his way to the young woman and possessively placed an arm around her waist, never taking his eyes off his former – and possibly even current – rival. While Kagome had certainly chosen to be with him, Inuyasha had never quite been able to shake off those pangs of jealousy.

"So..." she began, eager to break the silence, and looked over to the youkai "what brings you here? How are you; how are the others doing?"

Koga shuffled his feet uncomfortably, a trait very unlike him slowly managed to raise his gaze to her face, his own flushing with an ever so slight tint of pink.

"Oh... umm.. we're okay, not.. not much going on lately" he stuttered again, for some odd reason finding it hard to muster his usual defiant self confidence to let her hear all those compliments she so entirely deserved in his eyes. "I just... umm...I stopped by to see.. well.. how you were doing.. with the.. the _baby_ and all", he added utterly uneasily.

Kagome smiled at his nervousness.

"We're doing great", she answered blissfully. "Though it's about time..." she added, stretched her back with a tired smile and again came to a rest against Inuyasha's shoulder.

"That... That's great..." Koga replied after another short pause and managed a small smile. He had meant to tell her so much more, to ask her so much more; yet he had accomplished almost nothing. "I'm really glad to hear you're fine." He shortly glanced at the floor, then raised his gaze once more. "I... I guess I really should be going now."

Silently, hesitantly even, he turned around to escape the situation, the unease.

"Good luck... with the birth and all..." he added still facing away from the couple.

"Wait, Koga-kun", Kagome's voice halted his departure and made him finally turn his head around back towards her. "You know you're always welcome..." here she quickly had to place a hand on Inuyasha's arm as he was about to step forward and protest against her invitation and added "whatever Inuyasha might say."

While the hanyou commented said addition with a quick snort attributable to his stubbornness, the other man offered a small yet thankful smile, nodded and without any further word rushed off into the thickening darkness.

* * *

Sango and Miroku walked silently side by side, slowly making their way back home from the village where they had picked up a small supply of fresh food. With each step they took, it seemed as though the darkness around them turned thicker, the winter's icy air cutting into the exposed skin of their faces. Neither of them had spoken for a while; the only sound accompanying their journey was the sweet jingling of the golden rings on the young monk's staff. 

The demon exterminator let out a deep sigh as a strong breeze from behind sent a shiver through her body. With quite some effort, she tried to balance her heavy basket and at the same time tug the thin blanket tighter around her body. Needless to say, she failed miserably. Within split seconds, the basket had dropped to the floor, vegetables rolling off in all directions, leaving a disgruntled Sango even more uncomfortable than before. Muttering sourly under her breath, she knelt down to retrieve the lost goods, her blanket sliding from her shoulders in the process.

Silently, Miroku joined her on the ground and quickly gathered whatever lost food was in his reach.

"Thank you", Sango said hastily, apologetically as they had finished their small task. Yet as she was about to stand back up and lift her load, a much smaller weight suddenly pressed down on her shoulders. Confusedly, she looked up to see the young man gently placing an additional blanket around her; one she recognized as his own, as the one he had wearing before to guard himself from the cold.

His soft touch sending a rush of warmth through her body, she carefully let her fingers glide across the soft fabric.

"But... this is..." she began, not sure to say, just feeling the need to somehow show her appreciation for this small but yet so sweet gesture.

"Don't worry about it", was his only reply as he stood back up, smiling, with her basket in his hands and slowly strolled off, continuing on the route they had been following before the small incident.

The young woman, apparently in a daze, still knelt on the floor, the delicate fabric of his blanket in her tight grasp while her eyes followed the monk. For many moments there was not the slightest reaction in her body suggesting any sort of attempt of following him. Yet finally, the reverie seemed to lift itself; Sango blinked rapidly, at last taking in her surroundings.

"W... wait!" she managed to press out as she hastily scrambled to her feet and hurried off to follow her companion.

* * *

_AN: Well, what should I say? I am very well aware of how long it has taken me to post this update. Hence I made the decision to publish this part of the story – which would make a rather short chapter compared to the previous ones – as a kind of interlude before the final events of the birth. I will not try to make any inapplicable excuses at this point; I suppose it will suffice to say that I have been extremely busy with uni life: I have actually managed to pass my final exams and have yet only to wait for my masters thesis to be graded to officially be university graduate with the academic title of MA. I suppose that explains part of my complete absence from for such a long time._

_As a bit of a compensation, I have two extra goodies for you. One is another quick illustration of Kagome I made, roughly corresponding to the stage of her pregnancy in chapter 8, to be found in my deviantART account ( http://cayastrife. ). The second piece is for the music lovers among you; it is my own personal flute rendition – well, me playing the flute – of __Toki wo Koete, one of my most favorite Inuyasha songs of all time. This one's on youtube ( ). No, this is no cross-promotion; it is simply my wish to share some of my art with you in compensation for the long waits I am putting you through. Chapter 11, quite possibly including the baby's birth, should be available in a short while._

_And now, as always, a few individual words to my reviewers:_

**Kinkatia:** No need to apologize. If anybody knows what "busy" feels like, it's me. Writing a little bit every day sounds like a good idea, and it's actually how I used to write back in my high school days. Nowadays there are just too many things distracting me. So I usually sit down and have writing sessions of 2 to about 8 pages, depending on the state of my creativity. Anyway, I hope your stories are coming along well!

**Roku:**I am relieved to hear that you are happy with the way the story is turning out and that I have been able to do justice to your challenge. Of course I hope the final chapters will not disappoint you; I will certainly do my best – I'm really glad I accepted your challenge, it has given me the opportunity and drive to write a story I might never have attacked otherwise.

**Kinboshi Hiko:** Thank you so much for your compliment. I am doing my best to keep everybody in character, yet in some situation it's just not possible. Nice comments like yours make me feel all warm inside

**Tracey Claybon:** Thanks for being so understanding. I know that I don't exactly have an obligation towards anybody, still I can't help feeling that I owe my readers an update when I have promised them so often and have made them wait for so long. Anyway, I am trying to improve in that department'


	11. Rush

**Chapter 11: "Rush"**

"Well, as far as I can tell, the baby appears to be perfectly healthy." the doctor said while turning off the ultrasound screen and removing the latex gloves from his hands.

Kagome quickly wiped off the remains of the conductive gel and pulled down her shirt. The cold winter air that seemed to penetrate the room despite the working heating had sent an unpleasant shiver over her exposed skin. While the elderly doctor had already taken his seat behind the white desk, she quietly went over to Inuyasha and sat down next to him. Instantly, he took a hold of her hand, ever so gently, and shot her a reassuring smile. Even though they had been told that the child's growth and development were progressing just as expected, the young woman was not able to shake a certain feeling of insecurity. One that was surely understandable given the unfamiliar situation she was now confronted with. Inuyasha had to be experience the same emotions, she was fairly certain of that, yet he coped with them admirably. Even more than usually, he was composed, a pillar standing firmly in it's place, allowing her to receive the comfort and support she needed so desperately.

She gratefully returned the smile and shortly pressed his hand as she placed the other on top of her now largely swollen stomach..

"As you know, Miss Higurashi, this is the last scheduled examination before you are due to give birth. So if there are any pressing questions you would like me to answer, now would be the perfect time." the doctor offered, amiably.

Kagome hesitated. Only hours before, her mind had been filled with questions, doubts she would have loved to be resolved. But as it always happened, at that very moment, all of her conscious thoughts were replaced with a soft, cottony blanket, making impossible all directed thought.

It was then that the young man at her side spoke up.

"When the time for birth comes.. how will we know?" he inquired. After all, her health - and thus naturally that of their child - was his foremost concern.

The doctor smiled gently.

"Oh, don't worry. All first-time parents ask me that question; but when the time comes, you will know. While it is quite likely the best indication when the water breaks, the mother often knows in advance." Upon finishing the explanation, he noticed the doubtful - if not slightly frightened - expressions on their faces. So he quickly added, calmly: "Do not be afraid to contact me or any of my colleagues if you should feel that the time has come. False alarms are quite common and certainly nothing to be ashamed of."

Kagome smiled and nodded her head while the old man was already picking up the folder containing her medical information and reached for a pen.

"I believe that we haven't yet set down which method of birth you haven chosen?" he began.

Again Kagome nodded.

"We have been discussing this for a while now; and agree that we would like to have a traditional birth, as long as that's possible."

"Very well", the man answered, apparently quite pleased. "That is also what I usually like to advise. I believe it is important for the bonding between a mother and her child that as little outside influence as possible should take place. The most natural processes are usually the most advisable as well." he added.

He then handed the young couple some papers as well as a number of informational sheets.

"This is some additional information on hospital admission and also includes other useful tips for the final weeks of the pregnancy", he again smiled gently and continued as he was standing up: "and as I said, please, do not hesitate to contact me or any of my colleagues for any further questions you might have."

Inuyasha quickly stood up and aided Kagome in the same - yet for her much more straining - process. They then thanked the doctor, shaking hands, and said their short goodbyes. Now that all had been set and prepared, there was absolutely no need of spending additional time in the hospital; both Inuyasha and Kagome easily agreed.

***

Outside, snow was coming down in large flakes like a thick, white curtain blocking out almost all natural light but its own reflections. Again, Inuyasha had put his arm around his mate - for one to protect her from all those evils only he could see and also to allow her to share his own body warmth. And she gratefully accepted. The couple walked slowly; any movement now greatly tired the young woman so she tried to avoid unnecessary affairs. On that day, however, she had decided that it was time to buy the last Christmas presents - with the holy day drawing ever closer. The streets and shops were crowded, people pushing inside through the small openings to grasp that which they still needed for the holidays.

Inuyasha felt uncomfortable. Being in present-day Tokyo, he had always disliked large groups of people. Perhaps he felt that his secret could be exposed so much more easily; a strange sense of paranoia creating enemies where there most certainly were none. And the current situation only added to this undefined feeling of dread. Tightening his grip around Kagome ever so slightly, he alerted all his sense to avoid any physical contact between her and any stranger. Yes, it was paranoia that had taken over.

Kagome had noticed the tension building up in his body, the hardening of his muscles and gently ran her hand over his arm.

"Relax, Inuyasha", she quietly told him with a smile, "Everything is okay."

The hanyou glanced at her face and nodded. Still she could feel the tension inside of him. Nothing she could say would be able to change that. She smiled to herself. She had always known that this would happen; Inuyasha was a very protective person, it was in nature. That circumstance like those would only heighten this sense was to be expected. She continued to gently caress his arm as they walked on through the streets, stopping at several stores to pick up the last presents, small tokens of friendship and love to those who had become so close and dear to them.

After a couple of hours the hanyou was laden with several bags filled with all they had needed to purchase and the couple contently agreed to proceed to the last stop they had planned for that visit.

***

"Mom, I'm home!" Kagome shouted as she stepped through the front door, closely followed by Inuyasha. The hanyou quickly set down the bags, glad to be freed from them for a while.

When there was no answer to Kagome's announcement, she tried again and stepped toward the living room.

"Anybody home?" she inquired, "Mom? Souta? Grandpa?"

For a while, all was quiet again, until a soft rustling sounded from the outside and the front door opened. Through the opening stepped Kagome's mother, taking off a pair of thick, dirty gloves she had apparently used while working around the garden.

"Kagome, Inuyasha!" she said joyfully, coming toward the pair with a smile. "I didn't know you were coming by today."

Mother and daughter shared a warm embrace while the young man stood watching them contently.

"My, it's about time, isn't it?" the older woman remarked playfully, leaning back to have a good view of her offspring's new form.

"Yes", Kagome replied and placed a hand on her swollen stomach, "just a couple more weeks now."

Chatting on, the group went into the living room where Mrs. Higurashi quickly supplied snacks and drinks for the tired young couple. For hours, the two women exchanged small stories and anecdotes while InuYasha just sat at his mate's side, gently holding her in a protective grasp with his arm around her waist and the fingers of his other hand entwined in hers.

"So have you two thought of any names yet?" Kagome's mother asked curiously. She knew well that they had been having trouble coming to a consent, but with just a few weeks left until the child was to be born, a choice would have to be made quite soon.

Kagome sighed.

"Well...", she started as she quickly looked to InuYasha, "we've been talking about it for a while now, but we just can't decide."

Mrs. Higurashi chuckled softly and placed a hand over her daughter's.

"Don't worry. It was the same for your father and I when we were expecting you. It's always the most difficult with the first born - you feel like so much weight rests on your shoulders; that you could make and break the child with the choice you're about to make."

The younger one nodded in agreement; she was grateful that somebody understood her feelings, her problems. For as much as InuYasha was trying to comfort her, the worlds they had grown up in were too different from each other to allow him to understand the finer - and sometimes uglier - goings-on of the modern world.

"Don't worry, honey", her mother began, "just think about what you are to each other, what you DO for each other; and also what you want to do for the child, what it can do for you. Just don't worry and the answer will come to you."

Kagome smiled, whispering a soft "Thank you" while embracing her mother thankfully. She had been right. For in that moment, an idea - still vague and obscure - began to form in her mind and would soon provide her with the answer she had been longing for.

***

A severe shiver went through the small of Sango's body. It had been snowing for days on end, and the darkened, muddled skies showed no promise of an improvement of those circumstances. Consequently, the little hut they had come to inhabit offered only limited shelter: icy drafts were coming in through small cracks in the wooden structure and every time it seemed like the problem had been solved by patching up the spot that had caused the trouble, another one appeared.

Once Inuyasha returned from his visit to modern Tokyo, she would have him and Miroku work on a more permanent solution. Those were, after all, hardly the conditions one would subject a young mother and her newborn child to. And not a demon slayer, either, she added with another shudder.

In front of her, a small fire was flickering persistently, seemingly not all that impressed by the rough conditions. Albeit being a small one, it would surely suffice for preparing their dinner once the monk returned with it. In consideration of the harsh weather, he had offered to take that responsibility and make the trip into the village himself. Fresh goods were hard to come by during the winter, but certainly he would manage, she smirked, remembering all those times he had made small fortunes on the backs of non-existent demons and curses.

She coaxed herself a little closer to the flames, yet even the welcome warmth radiating onto her hands and face could do little against the prickling drafts that made her body shudder involuntarily every once in a while.

Tiredly, her gaze wandered around the small space until something caught her eye. Something of a dark blue hue. Something soft.

Something extremely warm-looking…

Sango's stiff fingers reached for the fabric and pulled it towards her, eventually placing it around her shoulders with a little effort. Instantly, the stinging sensations in her back stopped and the world started to feel so much warmer and more welcoming.

Sitting there, draped in Miroku's blanket, she closed her eyes contently. It was the same blanket he had so casually thrown around her shoulders only days ago, subjecting himself to the abysmal temperatures just to keep her comfortable. A gesture that said so much more than met the eye.

Her head resting lazily on her shoulder, she inhaled deeply. It even still smelt like him, she realized with a tiny smile. That sweet amalgam of pleasant musk and traces of burnt incense she had come to recognize as his. It was something that was able to calm her instantly, to make her feel at ease no matter what the situation. Of course the scent was so much more potent when coming from him directly, accompanied by his gentle smile. A tint of rose rising to her cheeks, she had to admit that - at that very moment - she could not imagine anything more wonderful than to sit there with him, and bask in his own warmth. The demon slayer was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not hear the pairs of footsteps approaching and quietly entering the hut.

"I'm sorry; are we interrupting anything?" Kagome asked lowly with a slight mirk, watching the other woman snuggle with the monk's blanket.

If such a thing were possible, Sango would have jumped straight out of her skin in surprise, shock and, yes, embarrassment. What had been just a rosy tint moments before instantly turned into a vigorous crimson that drove all remnants of coldness out of her body.

"This… It… It was cold…" she finally managed to stammer, earning herself a snicker from the hanyou who was just now entering the hut behind his mate.

However, something seemed off about the young man, and her confusion immediately pushed the memory of the embarrassment to the back of her mind.

"What's with all those colored boxes?" she asked, looking back and forth between Kagome and the mountains of gift-wrapped boxes Inuyasha somehow managed to hold in his arms.

"Don't you remember? It's Christmas!"

***

And they had indeed celebrated. Gifts had been exchanged and they had enjoyed a small feasts made up of the goods Miroku had purchased in the village and a few unusual delicacies Kagome had brought from her time, insisting they were part of the holiday tradition. Now all of the presents were unwrapped, the crumpled paper - more or less - neatly stacked in a corner and the residents of the hut drifting off into a content sleep, owing to the warmth of the fire and each other's company - even though Sango stole a few glances at the monk's blanket, while it remained unclear whether she longed to use it again or was afraid that her own scent had become caught in the fabric for him to notice.

While those two, however, were seemingly fast asleep after only a few minutes, the hanyou remained largely awake, as usual, with Kagome resting at his side. She could have passed for being asleep easily, had it not been for the steady motion of her hand running around her swollen belly in firm circles. Every once in a while, Inuyasha, who was registering her every move, thought to notice the pressure of her massage to be increasing, but he managed to push his worries aside.

'Paranoia', as Kagome had told him, 'you're seeing things where there isn't anything.'

And for a quite a while, the self deception worked rather well. His eyes were closed to the flicker of the flames and his ears graced with the lullabies of the winds.

It did work rather well -- until a small whimper rang up from his life side and his gaze immediately shot to the woman resting against him. She had opened her eyes, her forehead wrinkled in a frown and now had both of her hands running across her stomach rhythmically.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha whispered concernedly.

Kagome looked up at him with an apologetic smile and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, don't worry", she answered, in a tone of voice that so easily managed to calm him down, "I'm sure it's nothing."

Inuyasha nodded, though not quite convinced. Carefully, he shifted his body ever so slightly to allow her to rest more of her own weight against his sturdy frame and finally placed one hand over hers.

She continued her motions, a little lazier now than before, and again closed her eyes.

"I think Miroku and Sango really liked their gifts," she murmured after a moment of silence.

"Mhh," sounded the low grumble from the hanyou's throat, "they seemed pretty excited."

A chuckle. "Yeah."

And silence, albeit a comfortable one. Yet only minutes later broken by another whimper from Kagome.

"I'm fine, really," she anticipated his question and gave him a soft, even if slightly pained. smile.

"If you're really sure…" his voice trailed off.

And again, silence, one not quite as comfortable as before. And again, a few minutes later, Kagome's pained whimper rang to his ears.

He would not take her defensive answer again, he thought and determinedly bent over her.

"Kagome, I really-"

His sentences was cut short when the young woman raised her voice.

"Inuyasha, I think you should get Kaede. Now."

* * *

a/n: Umm… Yes, I am quite aware of how long it has taken me to post this. Actually, I've had half of this chapter on my hard drive for months now, but never really found a quiet moment to get around to finishing it - and I simply did not want to leave you with another 1.000 word chapter again! I am terribly, terribly sorry for the ridiculously long wait - but I now have a full time position as an English teacher at a secondary school for the advanced learners (grades 11-13 as well as adult education) and it is eating up my time and energy in ways I never thought possible.

Anyway, I hope you can forgive me and find at least a little bit of enjoyment in this - as you can see, it is getting very close to the finish line. And also, you might find a couple of syntactic and orthographic errors, but please don't hold me to accuracy. I have not yet proofread, and wrote the second half of this chapter in one session.

Tying in with that, thanks to the individual reviewers will go out with the next chapter, but of course I really appreciate all your input and feedback. It brightens my darker days, so please keep them coming!

Enjoy!


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